Blood Feud
by lindyrb
Summary: Mick, Beth and Josef are faced with a dangerous threat to their secret world, both from outsiders and maybe even from within...
1. Chapter 1

Title: Blood Feud (1 of ?) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: Sequel to "Moonlight To Dawn" Disclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

Summary: _It will help if you've read "Moonlight To Dawn". This starts about a month after that story ends, so it's about 14 months from where the series is at currently. Mick, Beth and Josef are faced with solving a dangerous threat to their secret world, both from outsiders and maybe even from within..._ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Sometimes you can go from 'life's good' to 'life sucks' in an amazingly short time. In the last month, I'd gotten the most amazing woman in the world to agree to marry me, put a rock on her hand that cost a couple years' savings, and gotten the Catholic Church to tell my ex to take a flying leap. All in all, it had been a very, very good month. _

_Then the break-ins started. At first, the cops wrote it off as just a robbery – a little cash taken and the place was totally trashed, but since it was a medical facility, they figured some druggies were pissed since they expected to find stockpiles of drugs. __Pretty normal crime.__Didn't even make the news._

_But after the third clinic was hit in as many days, some of the more bizarre details found their way from the confidential police report to Beth by way of one of her nosy little snitches. They do have their uses… _

Mick leaned back in his chair and looked at the cards in his hand. Two red queens, a red ace, a black king, and a lone three. He glanced at his friend across the table. Josef had the same sly smile he normally wore, so no hints there. The half-smoked Cuban in his hand was more for show than use. Josef said no poker game was worth playing without a Cuban and a scotch on the rocks. Mick could do without the Cuban, but gladly took a sip of the private label scotch at his side.

It wasn't anything official, but somehow every Thursday afternoon, Mick and Josef ended up in the small private room at Josef's house. It was easily the most casual and personal room in the house, unknown to all except his closest friends. Filled with comfortable furniture, a big screen tv, a small bar, and a card table, Josef referred to it officially as the study. Unofficially, he called it his 'inner sanctum'. Mick jokingly referred to it as The Bat Cave. Whatever the name, it was a private retreat where the two friends could just relax and be themselves. They'd watch sports, talk trash, and always, _always_ find an excuse for a few hands of poker.

Josef discarded two cards, picking up his replacements and settling back, rearranging his cards noncommittally. As Mick reached for his glass again, his phone rang from its place on the table. Seeing Beth's photo displayed, he smiled and answered.

"Hey!"

Her response had a certain urgency to it. "Where are you?"

"At Josef's," he replied, sitting up straighter. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I've got something I think you both should see. I'll be there in fifteen," she said, quickly hanging up.

Twelve minutes later, Beth swept into Josef's living room in full blown investigative mode. Shaking her head to forestall any questions, she quickly dropped her bag and booted up her laptop.

"There've been a series of break ins in the last few days at various medical offices and Red Cross donation centers. At first the police just thought they were druggies looking for pharmaceuticals, but I don't think so. This afternoon I got some materials from a source," she said, pulling up some crime scene photos.

"In each case, there was a very distinctive m.o. The police now figure they either have a thief with a warped sense of humor or somebody with a mental problem. What's weird is that they tossed the offices, but the main target seemed to be the destruction of any blood stored there. At each crime scene, the cops found every pint of blood ruined and a note with a stake through it," she said quietly. Beth looked up to see that she had both men's full attention. "Every time the note reads the same…I've got a scan of the one from last night."

She pulled up a scanned copy of the note and turned the screen around so the other two could read the text.

_**Be ye doctors or lawyers**_

_**Detectives or priests**_

_**Drawers of blood or financial chiefs **_

_**All those who drink blood**_

_**And turn from the light**_

_**Ye strike at the innocent and feed in the night **_

_**Soon by blade, fire or silver**_

_**For blood will you **__**thirst**_

_**Thus the earth will be cleansed of the vile vampire curse **__****_

Josef straightened up slowly, his eyes never leaving the screen. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Blade, fire and silver…he certainly hits all the nasty points, doesn't he," quipped Mick.

Beth nodded and moved around next to Mick. "And look at the first verse – it's so specific. Detectives and financial chiefs? Tell me that doesn't refer specifically to the two of you."

"We have community members in each of those professions," nodded Josef.

Mick looked from Beth to Josef and back to the screen in front of him. "Whoever this guy is, he knows us. And I'm not talking just about vampires in general." Mick looked at the others with a grim smile. "_He knows us_."


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Blood Feud (2 of ?) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

**From last chapter:**

_Beth nodded and moved around next to Mick. "And look at the first verse – it's so specific. Detectives and financial chiefs? Tell me that doesn't refer specifically to the two of you." _

_"We have community members in each of those professions," nodded Josef. _

_Mick looked from Beth to Josef and back to the screen in front of him. "Whoever this guy is, he knows us. And I'm not talking just about vampires in general." Mick looked at the others with a grim smile. "He knows us."_

**Part 2**

Josef turned to Mick. "This guy's more than just a menace. What he obviously knows makes him a dangerous combination of hunter and fanatic. You're too young to know what it was like being hunted down like some damn rabid animal." Josef ran his hand nervously through his hair and paced in front of the terrace windows. "We've managed to convince most of the world that we're nothing more than fictional characters. I have no intention of allowing centuries of carefully orchestrated misdirection to be endangered in my area on my watch."

Mick was already reviewing the photos Beth had shown them. "I need to go take a look at each of these locations. There's something about these photos that bugs me, but I can't put my finger on it." He stood up and grabbed his coat, looking at Beth. "While we head for the first clinic, you can see what more your source can tell you. And I need to get my hands on one of those notes."

"I'll make some calls," said Josef, swinging into planning mode. "I'll have Ryder access any data, electronic or telephonic records and I'll contact other areas to see if they've had any similar situations."

Mick and Beth were soon headed south on the 405 freeway towards the site of the first break in, an outpatient surgical suite south of the airport. Over the next three hours, the two of them visited each location. While the first place had supported three doctors, the second location, also a surgical suite, had been much larger, with four operating rooms used by nearly a dozen doctors.

The third hit, though, was on the Red Cross blood donor center that collected and processed blood for several hospitals in central Los Angeles. The initial police investigation noted that the damage in the blood storage area had been done with some type of bladed weapon – a machete or dagger most likely.

"He's choosing bigger targets with each attack," noted Mick. "I only sense one person – the same person - in each case. Whoever this guy is has planned these hits carefully. And I'm willing to bet that he's not done."

Beth nodded in agreement, looking over her notes. "Yeah. He'll probably hit another place sometime still this evening." She looked at her watch. "It's almost nine. Geez, no wonder I'm hungry," she said glancing over at Mick. "Can we stop at a deli someplace?"

"Of course," Mick said, "You just have to remind me. It's one of those things I tend to forget." He steered the Benz off the next ramp and swung into a strip mall. Fifteen minutes later, they were climbing back into the car when Mick's phone rang, showing Josef's number.

"Hey Josef," answered Mick.

"He's hit another location," responded Josef without preamble. "We just picked up the call on the police band. Century City Blood Bank down on Sepulveda."

Mick backed out of the parking space and quickly pulled out of the lot. "We're about ten minutes from there. Call you when we know more." He hung up and accelerated towards their destination. "He's definitely escalating. That's the largest blood bank in Los Angeles. It supplies the blood for nearly a third of the hospitals and clinics in the county."

From several blocks away, they saw the lights and heard the noise. Fire engines and rescue vehicles crowded the area where flames were nearly doused but the stench of smoke blanketed the site. Mick parked the Benz as close as possible outside the roped off police perimeter. Mick headed to the right, staying in the shadows and went to look at the back of the facility. Flashing her press credentials, Beth ducked under the tape and strode to where Detective Carl Davis stood directing the investigation.

The police detective sighed when he saw the blonde approaching. "Do I even want to know how you already heard about this?"

"Is this one like the other three?" Beth leaned forward earnestly. "I mean, this is obviously a fire, but was the blood supply destroyed? Was there another note?"

"You're not even supposed to be on this side of the tape, Beth," replied Davis. "And I'm not supposed to give out any details. But how do you know about the notes?"

"Confidential source," answered Beth with a smile. "Was there a note?"

Davis looked around and saw that they were alone. "Yeah, same as before. Same note, same type of crime. Just bigger. At this point, the California Surgeon General has placed all medical facilities on alert. Hospitals in the area have been ordered to delay all elective surgery and arrangements are being made to transfer blood from other regions."

Suddenly, the policeman's radio squawked and he flicked his earpiece on. After a hurried conversation, he turned away from Beth and started towards his vehicle.

"What?" Beth said, running to keep up. "What's happened?"

"I just got a call from dispatch. There's been some type of disturbance at LA County Morgue. I don't have the details, but we've got injuries this time. The facility there is manned 24 hours a day. Maybe he didn't realize anybody would be there."

Beth hurried back towards the Benz. As she reached for her phone to call Mick, he suddenly appeared beside her. "I take it you've heard?" he asked.

"Yeah. LA County Morgue. Isn't that were you..."

"Yeah. It's where Guillermo works…he's the night shift supervisor at the morgue which maintains a refrigeration unit with blood storage. Hopefully he heard or saw something. After Josef contacted me, I just tried to call him but he's not picking up."

Quickly turning the car towards the Wilshire district, Mick raced along the darkened city streets. "If this is the same guy, he's broken his pattern of one a night."

"Any reason to think it isn't the same guy?" asked Beth.

Mick shook his head slowly. "I don't know. I confirmed the same guy at the point of break in, but there were a couple other trace scents as well. I just don't know if they were with him."

"It would make sense," Beth agreed. "You said they seemed awfully well planned. Maybe he's just the muscle, but somebody else is actually the brains behind this."

Mick grimaced. "Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. The more people involved in this the greater the danger to us."

As soon as they arrived, Mick led Beth downstairs to where the police were just beginning to string yellow tape. To their right, Guillermo was giving a statement to the investigative team. As soon as he was done, he excused himself and motioned for Mick and Beth to follow him down the hall. He quickly led them into a small office where they could talk in private.

"What happened," Mick led.

"I was working like usual when these two guys walk in. I asked them what they wanted and this one tells me he's here to 'cleanse the world'. I turned to call security, and the next thing I know, the first guy hits me with a taser, then while I'm down, the other one stakes me."

"Stakes you?" asked Mick in amazement.

"Yeah," said Guillermo, opening his shirt to show an area with a faint bruise. "They definitely knew I was a vampire. As soon as they staked me, the first guy dragged me over to a maintenance closet. As he was stuffing me in, he kept talking about how 'the Old One will be so pleased'. He kept referring to himself as 'an apostle' and how they had to show the world that evil walks the streets."

"Did he say anything else," urged Mick. "Anything about motive or where they planned to hit next?"

Guillermo thought for a moment then nodded. "He was babbling a lot, but he did say something pretty disturbing. I remember exactly what he said, because it freaked me out. He said "when their food stores are destroyed, those who falsely claim life will be forced out of hiding and the righteous of the world shall smite them."

"Those who falsely claim life," murmured Beth.

"That's one way you could describe a vampire," quipped Mick. "And it explains why the attacks on the blood banks."

"So how did you get free?" Beth said, turning back to Guillermo.

Guillermo shrugged. "In all the moving me around, the stake dislodged enough that I was able to pull it out. I told the cops that I just got knocked out and that I was able to get out because the lock on the closet door was rusty."

Mick smiled, appreciating Guillermo's quick thinking. "So what did they get?"

"About 350 pints of blood," he said grimly. "They loaded it up on gurneys and took it down to the incinerator. It was still warm when the cops found the plastic melted on the door."

Mick looked shocked. "What the hell was that much fresh blood doing at the morgue?"

"We're used as an overflow storage facility when needed. LA Memorial is installing new refrigeration units this week, so we've been holding the bulk of their blood. They transfer it as needed for each day's use," explained the technician.

Mick and Beth thanked Guillermo and hurried back towards Mick's place, asking Josef to meet them there. Upon arrival, the trio settled into Mick's living room and started to compare notes.

Josef tossed copies of the police reports to Mick. "That makes what – five attacks in four days?"

"Yeah," Mick nodded. "And whoever these guys are, they're destroying a lot of blood."

Beth looked up from where she'd been compiling her notes. "Over 800 pints now."

Mick and Josef looked at each other in shock. They hadn't realized just how much of the blood supply had been affected.

"That's more than a third of LA's available blood," noted Mick.

Beth continued. "The Police Chief has also ordered extra security placed at all hospitals and blood banks in the area."

"That's great," remarked Josef sarcastically. "We've got some wackos running around LA yelling about vamps who evidently know enough that they could show up at our front doors. Plus the more subtle sources of nutrition are quickly becoming difficult to access." He looked at Mick. "In addition to a couple available freshies, I've got enough emergency stores in the freezer to last about a week."

Mick nodded. "I have enough on hand for a few more days. Hopefully by then we'll catch these guys."

"If not, we'll have to take other measures," said Josef. "We have nearly 200 of us in the area, all of whom rely on…'purchased nutrition' for at least some of their sustenance. If everyone suddenly had to turn to live food, they'd have to go outside the standard group of freshies. It would become too obvious very quickly."

Beth looked at Mick. "You mean you'd have to…"

"Hunt," confirmed Mick. "Yeah. Every vamp needs about a pint a day. If they go hungry too long, they'll get it however they can. They won't be able to help themselves."

Moving forward, Beth slipped her arms around Mick and kissed his cheek. "You won't have to worry about that."

Mick quickly pushed her away and looked down into her face. "Don't even think about that."

"Mick, a healthy adult can donate a pint every couple days without any side effects."

He shook his head adamantly. "No way. You're not some little freshie to be used like that. You're my fiancée, for God's sake," he rasped. "I'm not going to use you like some damn snack machine."

"Then we better catch these guys," replied Beth calmly. "Because I won't let you get sick and I sure as hell won't let some other woman 'service' you."

Their face off was disturbed by the chirping of Josef's Blackberry. Quickly reading the message, Josef looked at the couple in front of him.

"We may have a lead."


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Blood Feud (3 of ?) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

**From last chapter:**

_He shook his head adamantly. __"No way.__ You're not some little freshie to be used like that. You're my fiancée, for God's sake," he rasped. "I'm not going to use you like some damn snack machine."_

_"Then we better catch these guys," replied Beth calmly. "Because I won't let you get sick and I sure as hell won't let some other woman 'service' you."_

_Their face off was disturbed by the chirping of Josef's Blackberry. Quickly reading the message, Josef looked at the couple in front of him._

_"We may have a lead."_

**Part ****3**

"Ryder was able to tap into the security cameras at both the blood bank and the morgue. Both keep digital records for 48 hours before they're overwritten and both caught our latest 'Van Helsing' on tape." Josef picked up his jacket. "I'll head back to the house and see what he's got. We can...access…some very high end facial recognition software. Give me an hour - I'll contact you as soon as we have something."

Mick nodded, following Josef to the door. "I'll give Guillermo a call and see if we can meet up with him this afternoon and have him look at what Ryder found. Hopefully he can give us a definite ID on the guys he saw. In the mean time," he said turning to Beth, "I want to print off those photos you got from your source and take a closer look at the note."

Closing the door behind Josef, Mick walked over to where Beth sat pulling up the files from her source on her laptop. Pausing for a minute, he reached out and pulled Beth up into a hug.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, stoking her hair. "I just want to keep you safe."

Beth wrapped her arms around him, relishing the feeling of safe harbor she always found in his arms. "I understand that, Mick. It's part of what makes you..._you_. But I'm not some fragile princess. I'm capable of taking care of myself. And you too, sometimes." She pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. "We agreed that we're partners in this relationship. That means not only giving but being willing to take help when we need it."

"But this is different…"

"No, Mick, it's not," said Beth, shaking her head. "I have absolutely no doubt that you would willingly give your life for me. If I can save yours by something as simple as sharing a pint of my blood, then there's absolutely no reason for you not to let me."

'_A_s _simple as sharing a pint of my blood__…' _Mick looked with awe at the woman in front of him. She actually saw it that way – as a simple act of love. How he had been so blessed to find this woman who loved him in spite of what he was? He closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of her in his arms.

He dropped his head down, nuzzling her neck. "Alright. If it comes to that, I'll come to you."

Sharing a gentle kiss, she reached up and brushed a lock of his chestnut hair back from his face. "Thank you," she whispered. Changing the subject, she motioned for him to take a look at the photos she had printed out.

Mick sat next to Beth, spreading the photos of the first three crime scenes out in a line. Glancing at them quickly, he was again drawn to the two shots of the scanned note. One was a context shot, showing the note impaled by a wooden stake anchored in the seat of an office chair. Left in the middle of a pile of slashed pints of blood, the scene reminded him of something in a bad horror movie.

The second shot was a close-up of the note with the verse clearly written by hand. The writer was fairly skilled in calligraphy, although a few random drops of ink made it clear this note was an original. Mick was willing to bet that each note had been done by hand and made a mental note to have a handwriting expert compare the notes to see if they were in the same hand.

Mick pointed out his observations to Beth who grabbed her phone and quickly called her source in the records section of the police department. Less than 15 minutes later a file popped up on her computer with more than thirty attached photos. Beth quickly sent the attachments to Mick's printer, then the two of them settled in to review the new evidence.

Among the shots were copies of the notes from the earlier sites, but they were excited to see that the photos included shots of the two crime scenes from earlier that evening.

"Gotta love digital cameras and modern technology," muttered Mick. "Less than four hours later and we've already got the pictures."

Mick's phone trilled from his coat pocket. Pulling it out, he saw Josef's number. "What do you have?"

"A lot. How soon can you get here?"

Mick gestured to Beth who immediately started gathering up the photos and shoving them and the laptop into her tote. "We'll be there in 20."

* * *

Exactly twenty minutes later, Mick swung his car into place next to the Ferrari and hurried along with Beth up to the house. As they walked into the foyer, Josef waved them into his office area where Ryder was busy at the multi-screen media center.

Josef gestured at a screen capture on a monitor to their right. "There's our Van Helsing," he announced. "His name is Peter Trent, recently a resident of the LA County looney bin. Declared harmless and released into the general populace three weeks ago."

"What was he being treated for?" Beth asked.

"He told the doctors that his walls were filled with listening devices so that God could check on his purity."

Mick's eyebrow tweaked upward. "Ooooo-kay."

"That may actually work in our favor," Beth said to the others. "Given his history of instability and recent treatment, anything he says is just going to be written off as another delusion."

Josef shrugged. "I hope you're right. But there's also the other two that were involved in the hit on the morgue." Nodding at another monitor, he walked over to study the images more closely. "The one on the left is Trent's cousin, Johnny Thompson. The other is a friend of the family named Tony Grayson. Both are small time hoods who get off on causing trouble just for the hell of it," spat Josef.

"So they really don't have any agenda. They were just there for lack of anything better to do," Mick observed. "They probably think Trent's as big a nutcase as the cops do."

"Bingo!" interrupted Ryder.

Josef quickly turned back to the techie. "What did you find?"

Ryder explained as he continued to rapidly access the data. "I noticed in the footage that as Trent left each scene he made a phone call. When he left the morgue, he was right under the security camera when he dialed. It took quite a bit of manipulation," he said with a big smile, "but I've got the number he dialed."

Mick leaned in to watch the screen as the vampire traced the number called. "He's reporting in to someone," Mick observed grimly. "Trent's just a lackey. There's somebody else orchestrating the attacks."

Muttering under his breath, Ryder followed the data as it twisted and turned. Finally breathing an expletive, he shook his head and looked at Mick.

"Sorry. That number belonged to a disposable cell phone. No name. Paid for in cash. The only thing I can tell you is that it was purchased and used in the Atlanta area."

Mick sighed and nodded. "Thanks. That's more than we had." Turning to Beth and Josef, Mick pointed at the three images on the monitors. "It's time we earn some brownie points with the local P.D." Mick said with a slight smile. "Let's give Detective Davis the screen captures and ID's of these three. He'd find them eventually on the tapes – we'll just be saving him a few days time. Let the cops look like the heroes by arresting three bad guys."

"Are you sure that's wise?" asked Josef.

"They're not going to take anything Trent says seriously," explained Mick. "And my gut tells me that the other two guys were just along for the ride."

Beth looked at the screens in front of them. "What about the phone call?"

Mick shook his head. "They'll be happy just getting the three of them off the street. No reason for them to look any further." He looked at the others. "But we will."

Det. Carl Davis looked up from the information he held in his hands at the two people in front of him. Not that he wasn't grateful for any tips he could get, but he wasn't used to having the entire solution to a highly visible crime spree handed to him.

"How did you get these security tapes?" he asked quietly. "We're still doing our initial review."

Beth gave him a tight smile. "Does it matter? You can confirm the shots are from the tapes you have. And you have their identities there as well."

Davis looked at the PI sitting quietly at Beth's side. Somehow, he had the feeling that there was much more to both this story and Mick St. John than he was being told. He made a mental note to himself to ask around about the man. He knew Beth was engaged to the PI, but there was just something that bugged him about the man.

He shrugged and looked back at the photos in his hand. "OK, Beth. I'll have our guys pick up the three of them. We'll question them and see what we can find out. If Trent is as disturbed as you say, it should be a pretty straight forward referral to a psych eval."

"I'd like to observe when you question them," Mick interjected.

Davis shrugged. "Sure. I'll have the desk gives you a call when we bring them in."

Mick nodded his thanks and followed Beth out of the detective's office and headed home.

Mick had been asleep about five hours when he was awaken by Beth opening his cold chamber and shaking his shoulder. Instantly awake, he looked up at her questioningly.

"Carl just called," she informed him. "They've got all three in custody."

Less than an hour later, Mick strode into police headquarters and was quickly shown into an observation area overlooking the interrogation room where Tony Grayson had just been seated. He listened intently as Det. Davis questioned the petty criminal about the morgue attack. At first, Grayson denied all knowledge of the incident, but when Davis showed him the screen capture, the criminal shrugged and admitted his participation.

After listening for a few more minutes, Mick signaled that he needed to talk with Davis for a minute. When Davis came out of the room, Mick quickly approached him.

"Ask him what Trent told him about why he was hitting the morgue."

Davis frowned. "If Trent's a headcase, does it really matter?"

"Just ask him," repeated Mick.

Det. Davis reentered the interrogation room and continued the questioning. He then asked about any comments Trent had made about why he had targeted the facility.

Grayson leaned back in his chair and laughed. "Dude's a whack job. Thinks God's talking to him and shit. Kept talking about how 'LA is just the beginning of the cleansing' and how he was some type of apostle responsible for purifying LA before the others continue the work." He shrugged. "I mean, he's Johnny's cousin and all, but that boy's seriously deranged."

Within minutes, Mick was in his car and headed back towards his place. He quickly placed a call to Josef.

"Josef, I think this problem just got worse. We know from the phone call he made that Trent was being controlled by someone in the Atlanta area, and Grayson just confirmed that Trent told him LA was just the start of some type of program."

"I don't thnk this is going to stop with these three arrests," Mick stated. "I have a bad feeling that this is much bigger than we thought."

At the other end of the line, Josef moved down the hall to his private study and moved aside a false set of books, revealing a wall safe with optical security verification. Removing a small address book from the vault, he quickly sat down and began thumbing through the leather book.

"Unfortunately, I agree. This could pose a much larger threat than we have faced in over a century. If someone's gunning for us, I want to know who and why, St. John," he ground out.

When he continued, Mick could hear the tension in his voice. "I'm also going to have to call the Council Elders and fill them in." He found the rarely used number he'd been looking for. "Let me know if you find anything else."

Mick hung up and clenched his teeth. In nearly sixty years of knowing Josef, he'd never known Josef to contact the Council. Located somewhere in the NYC area and made up of the oldest vampires on the North American continent, they served as a type of government entity and supreme court combined. If Josef was contacting them, things were likely to get very hot in sunny LA.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Blood Feud (4 of ?) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

**From last chapter:**

_At the other end of the line, Josef moved down the hall to his private study and moved aside a false set of books, revealing a wall safe with optical security verification. Removing a small address book from the vault, he quickly sat down and began thumbing through the leather book._

_"Unfortunately, I agree. This could pose a much larger threat than we have faced in over a century. If someone's gunning for us, I want to know who and why, St. John," he ground out. _

_When he continued, Mick could hear the tension in his voice. "I'm also going to have to call the Council Elders and fill them in." He found the rarely used number he'd been looking for. "Let me know if you find anything else."_

_Mick hung up and clenched his teeth. In nearly sixty years of knowing Josef, he'd never known Josef to contact the Council. Located somewhere in the NYC area and made up of the oldest vampires on the North American continent, they served as a type of government entity and __supreme court__ combined. If Josef was contacting them, things were likely to get very hot in sunny LA._

**Part ****4**

It had been nearly 48 hours since the police had arrested Trent and the others. Trent had continued to spout his pseudo-religious diatribe and, after a brief attempt at questioning, had been bundled back to the state mental institution. The other two hoods had, as Mick predicted, only been there for lack of anything better to do and were now guests of the county jail. As far as the police were concerned, the arrests, together with the resulting two nights of quiet, closed the book on the situation.

Mick knew better. He, Beth and Josef had run down every lead and gotten frustratingly few answers. Josef told them the council was taking a wait and see attitude, although they were making discrete inquires into extremist groups in the Atlanta area. Emergency blood supplies had begun trickling in and security had returned to normal at the medical facilities.

The blood banks and hospitals would be fully resupplied tonight thanks to two groups of refrigerated semis arriving from San Francisco and Phoenix. With blood supplies back to normal, the hospitals would resume full operations tomorrow morning.

All in all, Mick figured the situation was ripe for another strike. He didn't for a minute believe Trent had masterminded the string of break ins. No, he figured the Atlanta connection was going to factor into this somehow.

_Situations and people you wish would stay gone have a way of showing up at the worst times._

Mick's sleep had been restless today, his mind unable to find a calm place. Finally giving up, he got out of his freezer and padded into the bedroom to shower and dress. He smiled as he moved a pair of drying pantyhose and a bra from where they were draped over the shower door. He marveled at how his life had changed in the last year. After 85 years of bachelorhood, more or less, he'd adapted amazingly quickly to having Beth living with him.

There were the obvious changes – smiling photos on the end tables, flowers in the entryway, food in the fridge and a significant loss of closet space in the bedroom. The less obvious changes, though, were the most important ones, the main one being that the townhouse was no longer just a place to sleep and keep his files. It was now a home – vibrant and alive.

A couple weeks ago, he'd arrived home having been out tracking a missing person. As he entered, he'd been greeted with the blaring sound of Fauxliage and the sight of Beth dancing towards him from the kitchen grinning and singing along. Coming from the kitchen had been the unmistakable aroma of spaghetti sauce. He'd been struck with just how alive their home was. Beth was an unstoppable force of nature. He had no doubt it was part of what attracted him to her. He loved her unpredictability, her stubbornness, her 'joie de vivre'. If Mick couldn't be human again, being with Beth was pretty damn close.

Hair still damp from the shower, Mick headed downstairs and fixed himself some 'breakfast' checking his phone for messages. A brief text message from Guillermo let him know that his friend would set aside a six-pack of A Pos for him when the shipment came in this evening. He text messaged him back his thanks, letting him know he'd be in when he got up tomorrow. Another message from Beth told him to check his email for some more crime scene photos she had gotten from her source. Mick wandered into his office and booted up the computer.

With a smile, he hit speed dial on his phone.

"Beth Turner, Buzzwire…"

"You know, we haven't talked about whether or not you're going to change your name."

He could hear her snort in reply. "Why does the girl always have to change her name? Why not the guy?"

Mick smiled. "'Cause I've had my name longer. A _**lot**_ longer."

"Yeah, but Mick Turner has a certain ring to it," she teased.

"Nah," he drawled, "I'd have to buy all new monogrammed sheets."

Beth laughed and leaned back in her chair. "I'm sure you had some reason to call other than just to play Miss Manners. Did you get my text about the additional photos?"

"Yeah, I just pulled them up," Mick answered quickly flipping through the new scans. "Nothing really new, though. Just more of the same."

"Did you see the copy of the report listing the possessions on Trent when he was picked up?"

Mick quickly pulled up the attachment and scanned the list. "No cell phone."

"Which means," Beth answered, "that he either ditched it or left it behind. I know we've already searched the hotel room he was staying in and the police obviously didn't find it, so he must have tossed it after the morgue attack. Somehow I doubt he was smart enough to do that on his own. My guess is somebody figured he would get caught and told him to get rid of it."

Mick clicked through the new images again. "Why don't I pick you up around six. That way we can drop by Josef's place and see if he has anything new after we swing thru Chin Chin's for some Kung Pao for you."

"How lucky can a girl get," she replied dryly. "Take out and an evening at your bud's house."

* * *

Beth sat comfortably tucked into the corner of Josef's Italian leather sofa, noshing on her Kung Pao chicken and reviewing her notes. Beside her, Mick scanned through his email on the laptop, shoes off and feet propped up next to a tumbler of blood on the dark wood coffee table.

Josef entered from his office and grimaced. "Could you two try to look a little less…human? I mean, you've got the whole Hepburn and Tracy thing going on." He straightened his tie, looking as though he'd taken a bite of something (or someone) spoiled. "I've got a reputation to maintain and you two aren't helping."

A hint of a smile lifted the corners of Mick's mouth. "So…I shouldn't have used the coaster under my glass?"

"Of course you should use a coaster. Your 'foot rest' is solid Brazilian mahogany and set me back nearly ten grand. I said less human, not less civilized."

Josef started to say something else when his Blackberry phone trilled. "Yes?...Who is this?...I don't know who you think…."

Mick stood up slowly and moved towards Josef. The older vampire's face betrayed his shock and anger as he listened to whoever had called his private line.

The caller abruptly ended the conversation, leaving Josef angrier than Beth had ever seen him. His eyes had frosted over and he stood in the middle of the room staring at the now silent Blackberry. Suddenly, he whirled around and strode toward the media center where Ryder continued to research their leads. Mick and Beth hurried after him.

Moving purposely into the midst of the screen lined room, Josef barked out orders. "Pull the tape on the last call to my number. I want audio NOW!" Never wavering from the data screen in front of Ryder, he acknowledged Mick and Beth. "For security purposes, I have every call, text or data transfer recorded."

Ryder's fingers flew across the keys, calling up the needed file. A clear digital recording suddenly filled the room.

****

**_Joseph Konstintin_**

_Yes?_

**_You are an abomination who must be cleansed from the earth._**

_Who is this?_

**_Nothing your kind can do will prevent our telling the world of your evil. _**

_I don't know who you think…_

**_You will no longer be allowed to walk among us in darkness. Those that are tainted by association with you will be washed away in the light of truth and the apostles that are martyred in our crusade shall be accorded a place in heaven. Tonight we call down the wrath of God upon your world and take from you the blood that belongs to the living, yet is used by the undead. Tell your kind your existence is at an end_**

A deathly silence blanketed the room broken only by the sound of Ryder's rapid keystrokes. Within seconds, he spun around to Josef. "It was another disposable cell phone. Purchased in Atlanta again, but this call was placed from somewhere in the LA area."

Josef spun around and moved slowly back to the living room followed by Mick and Beth. His mind already whirling into action, Mick walked over to where Josef was busy pouring himself a tall glass of brandy.

"By name. On your private line."

"Yeah."

Mick leaned on the bar next to his friend, given his silent support. Finally, Josef set down his drink and looked at the younger vampire beside him. "Brings back bad memories, you know? I mean, there hasn't been any real vampire persecution in over 200 years. We've all worked so hard to bury our society in the shadows, to erase us from human knowledge. Even if this guy is as certifiable as Trent was, it brings unwanted attention everytime he speaks out." He took a deep breath and clenched his hands around the edge of the bar.

Beth let out a gasp. Mick and Josef snapped around to look at where she sat on the couch, laptop in front of her.

"I think he'd done more than just speak this time," she said, pointing to the news report on her screen.

At that moment, Ryder came sliding into the room. "I think you guys are going to want to see this."

They raced back into the media center where a news report was projected on a widescreen monitor. The helicopter shot showed a fire lighting up the night. The byline at the bottom identified the location as I-10 near Palm Springs.

_"Less than 30 minutes ago, this convoy of refrigerated semis was attacked in a commando-style raid. Reports of automatic weapons fire and explosives are coming from the survivors. The trucks, filled with emergency blood supplies for the Los Angeles area, were being escorted from Phoenix by two state trooper vehicles and although emergency personnel are still on the scene, initial reports are that at least six individuals were killed in the attack, including at least two state police. As you can see…"_

The anchorman at the station interrupted suddenly. _"Just a minute, Bob….we're getting word of another attack…this one on Interstate 5 about 100 miles north of Los Angeles…."_

The trio in the room didn't need to hear any more.

"This goes way beyond threatening," growled Josef, his eyes locked with Mick's._ "This bastard's declared war."_

_TBC_


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Blood Feud (5 of ?) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

**From last chapter:**

_The trio in the room didn't need to hear any more. _

_"This goes way beyond threatening," growled Josef, his eyes locked with Mick's. "This bastard's declared war."_

**Part 5**

Before the sun rose the next morning, a battle had begun, unseen by the general populace. Long ago drawn up contingency plans had been implemented, placing the members of the tribe on alert. Those who could, left the region on vacation or to 'visit a dying grandmother'. Long hidden safe houses were swept and prepared just in case….well, just in case. Josef had put Mick in charge of tracking down and notifying those who hadn't been readily found. For his part, Josef had had to call the Council, although they had been already aware since every news network was covering the attacks as the lead story across the country and beyond. Especially disturbing to all involved was the fact that whoever was behind these attacks had detailed knowledge of them, and the ability to target individuals by name. The Council, in turn, had sent immediate alerts to all areas of the continent, urging the elders to prepare their regions to go to ground if necessary. Every intelligence asset in their considerable arsenal was being deployed to ferret out any fanatic groups that might be involved, especially in the Atlanta area. Josef, however, insisted that he, Mick and several others would remain in place and work to uncover the identity of the threat.

Mick had quickly tracked those loners who were outside the normal community grapevine. He also made note of those who would remain in place, able to act as sources of information. Guillermo assured him that, with the increased security the morgue had in place, he was safer there than anyplace else. Besides, he had plenty of food available. Unfortunately, since everyone going in or out was searched, he wouldn't be able to supply anyone else. The Cleaner was also remaining in town, ready to provide both her professional services as well as her observational skills as needed.

By lunchtime, Mick was exhausted. He gave Josef a quick call to fill him in on the preparations and let him know that he was going to grab a few hours in the freezer and would be back over before nightfall. As he approached his front door, he smiled, sensing a welcome presence waiting for him. He found himself wrapped in the warm embrace of his Beth as soon as he walked in.

"Mick, are you ok?"

He kissed the top of her head and nodded against the side of her face. "Yeah, just tired."

"Hungry too, I bet," she smiled. Taking his hand, she pulled him to the couch and sat him down. Giving him a quick kiss, she quickly ducked into the kitchen and reappeared a moment later with a tall glass of warmed blood.

As Mick gulped down the welcome nutrients, he felt Beth unlace his boots and remove them. He quickly finished his drink and pulled her down next to him, wrapping his arms around the beautiful blonde. He took a precious moment to bury his nose in her thick hair, he breathed in the scent that he knew was unique to this woman. A scent that meant _love_ and _home_ to him.

"Well, I think we're as prepared as we can be," he said, relaxing into the couch. "Josef's activated all our emergency plans. He's ensured there are plenty of financial resources available, dozens of safe houses scattered over hundreds of miles, and he has Ryder and just a couple others gathering and analyzing every bit of information available."

Beth sighed and snuggled deeper into Mick's embrace. "It seems so unreal. I mean, on one hand I feel like I'm in the middle of a war zone. On the other hand, I walk down the street and everyone is going about their lives as though nothing's wrong." She looked up at her lover's face. "You and Josef expect this to get even worse, don't you?"

Mick silently dropped a kiss on her upturned forehead and stood, pulling her to her feet next to him. "Come on, I want to show you something."

Going into his office, Mick went to his desk and opened one of the side drawers. Sliding his hand along the side, he tripped a release, revealing a false bottom in the drawer. From there, he removed several pieces of paper and a handful of small items. Spreading them out on the desk, he looked at Beth.

"I really hope we're going to find out who's behind this and stop them before too many questions get asked that we can't answer. But if things go really badly…" he captured her eyes and held them. "If the worst happens, I need you…Josef needs you…we all need you to help us survive."

Beth suddenly found herself unable to swallow. She didn't want to hear what he had to say. If she didn't hear it, then it couldn't happen. Gathering her senses, she took a breath and nodded. "Anything. You know that."

"If this thing explodes, I'll have to disappear. Quickly. There are some things I'll need you to take care of." Turning to the papers on the desk, he spread them out and gestured toward each one. "I had these drawn up a couple months ago. This one's the deed to this building." Seeing her surprise, he shrugged. "I bought it back in the 70's when this area was pretty run down. It was a good investment and then I had no nosy landlord to ask questions," he grinned. Pointing to the other documents, he continued. "Here's the pink slip and registration to the Benz, and access information for my investment portfolio and several bank accounts. They're all in your name."

Beth's head snapped up to stare at Mick, leaving her speechless. "What? Why?"

Mick smiled gently and pushed a wayward strand of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. "I told you a long time ago that I trust you. Consider it an early wedding present."

Looking back at the desk and trying to ignore the shocked stares from the woman beside him, Mick continued. "There are two keys here. The gold one is a safe deposit box at my bank. Be sure to clean that out as soon as possible before someone freezes my checking account and figures out there's a box on the account. The small one is to a firebox in the bottom drawer of this desk. It contains some old photos of my family, my original birth certificate, things like that. Burn them if you have to, but don't let anybody get ahold of them."

Beth nodded, sick to her stomach with the understanding of the seriousness of the situation. Mick scooped up the last two objects from the desk and slipped them in his pocket. He quickly hid the papers and keys again, making sure Beth knew how to retrieve them quickly. He then led her upstairs and in through the grey door.

Turning to her, he pulled one of the object from his pocket. Beth saw it was a smaller, more petite version of the ring he wore. With a deep breath, Mick slipped the ring on her right pointer finger, the same one he wore his ring on.

"I planned to give you this on our wedding night, but I think now is appropriate. This ring is a sign to all Undead that you are part of us. That you know of us and have vowed to keep our secret, even unto death…and beyond."

Beth felt the coolness of the white gold ring against her heated skin. Looking up at the man she loved so much, she leaned forward and gently kissed his lips.

"Without hesitation," she whispered.

Mick kissed her again, then pulled away. "There are also a few things around the house I need you to do if I have to leave suddenly." He moved to the far side of his cold chamber and pointed out a false front wall socket. With a sharp push, one of the power sockets clicked and an entire section of the wall slid back.

"If there's a chance the building will be compromised, everything that could compromise us should either be destroyed or hidden in here." He pointed to the bottom of the freezer. "There are recessed wheels that you can release easily. Just disconnect the power and push the freezer into the hiding place. Stick my vamp hunting kit, any blood, and my old files from the office inside. There are some free weights, a couple mats and other exercise stuff in the hall closet. Just throw them in here so it looks like a workout room."

Grimly, he placed his hand on top of the freezer and looked up at her. "As a last resort, if you have to, burn the damn building. Josef's making similar arrangements for his house."

"If it gets to that point, take the papers, the keys and a suitcase of stuff and get the hell out of LA. You may not be a primary target, but it could be 'guilt by association'. Head up to Portland to your mom's. I'll contact you there when it's safe."

He removed the other item he'd put in his pocket and laid it in her hand. "This is a memory card encoded with the contact information for every vampire in this region, plus key points of contact for the Council and even for the leaders overseas. Give it only to Josef, me, or a member of the Council. Keep it safe and you keep us alive."

He felt her trembling and quickly drew her into his arms. "Hey, I'm not saying that's what is going to happen. Just the 'what if' plans."

Beth felt tears escaping down her cheeks and laid her head against Mick's strong chest. "I'll do whatever needs to be done to keep you and Josef and the others safe. But I don't want you to just disappear. And besides," she said, suddenly pulling away, "it's not just you and Josef working on this case. I covered the press conference this morning. While you were busy helping Josef, I got to see and hear a lot. This is now considered a serial murder case since there were deaths at both convoy attacks. And since they used automatic weapons and explosives, the FBI, ATF, Homeland Security….they're all involved. And what's important to us is that they don't believe a word of what the attackers are saying. The authorities are just looking for religious fanatics. Their whole investigation is confined to trace evidence, explosive residue and regularly monitored extremist groups. They're definitely not looking for vampires."

"Unless one of the attacks exposes something we can't hide quickly enough…somebody vamped out in self defense. A person who gets shot but isn't affected. Somebody who has to go without feeding long enough that they begin to prey on the public." Mick sighed, "I hope it doesn't get to that point."

"Well, I'm scheduled to cover the evening press conference downtown tonight," said Beth with a smile. "Want to join me?"

A plan began to whirl about in Mick's head. "Sure. And maybe we can come up with some questions to help 'guide' their investigation. In the mean time," Mick said, with a yawn, "I'm going to grab a few hours in the freezer."

Fifteen minutes later, Mick was already asleep and Beth was lounging on the couch typing up her notes and snacking on some fresh veggies. Catching a glimpse of the ring on her right hand, she firmly shook her head, telling herself that all Mick's safeguards wouldn't be necessary. She and Mick would find a way to solve this case as they had so many others.

The alternatives just weren't acceptable.

* * *

The press conference had been a mob scene with big name reporters from the major networks as well as local press, all scrambling for an angle or a scrap of something new. As soon as the authorities had opened the floor for questions, Beth had jumped in, asking if Trent's 'repeated' stays in a mental institution meant that perhaps the others involved were also recent mental patients. When the briefer's answer was that they were looking into that possibility, the other reporters leapt upon the issue. Beth followed up, wondering if they had any idea if perhaps the attackers were being influenced by some charismatic Svengali who they had met in the mental hospital. Trent's previous commitment hadn't been public knowledge, but with Beth's carefully planted comments, the lead story across the country was about the 'escaped mental patients under the guidance of their personal Charles Manson'.

As soon as Beth had finished filing her report, she and Mick headed for Josef's house. When they pulled up next to the Ferrari, Beth grabbed her half-eaten dinner and followed Mick in the door. Immediately upon entering, Mick froze, grabbing Beth by the arm and pushing her into a corner where he could shield her with his body. Drawing a deep breath in, Mick saw other vampires, very old ones, entering through the door. He started to maneuver Beth towards to door to escape when Josef appeared at the end of the hall.

"It's ok, Mick. You can both come in. There's someone here I think you should meet."

Cautiously, Mick escorted Beth into the living room where several vampire, obviously bodyguards, stood around a seated figure. Mick's senses were on high alert. This was an old vampire. A very, very old vampire.

Josef stepped to Mick's side and giving a slight bow, addressed the seated gentleman. "Your Excellency, I'd like to introduce Michael St. John. Mick, may I present the Chairman of the North American Council, Alexander."

Mick was struck speechless. This was the head of the much feared Council. As such, that meant he was most likely the oldest vampire in all the Americas, and one of the oldest in the world. Shrouded in mystery, he'd heard very little about the man. Whenever he'd asked Josef about the Council, his answer generally was that Mick was better off not knowing.

Mick bowed slowly, showing respect for the elder vampire. "I'm honored, Your Excellency." Remembering Beth who was at his side looking rather confused, he introduced her as well. "And this is my fiancée, Beth Turner."

Turning to Beth, he explained. "His Excellency is the senior leader of all of us on the North and South American continents."

Immediately understanding the impact of his presence there, she quickly dropped into a curtsy. "I'm honored as well, Your Excellency."

The Chairman chuckled and rose effortlessly from his place on the couch and approached the couple. Reaching out, he shook Mick's hand then turned to Beth.

"So this is Beth Turner. Your human fiancée."

Mick cautiously grasped Beth's hand and pulled her a step closer to his side. "Yes, Your Excellency, she is human, but completely trustworthy."

A friendly smiled spread across the old vamp's face. "So I hear. You have nothing to fear from me, child. You come with strong recommendations from an old friend of mine. I believe you remember Cardinal Rossi?"

Beth smiled widely and squeezed Mick's hand. "Of course! We're very grateful for the Cardinal's support."

Mick nodded. "You've known His Grace for quite some time?"

"Oh yes," Alexander replied. "I was one of those who mentored him when he was first turned. I'd managed the area around Rome for some time, much as your friend Josef administers this area."

Beth's eyes widened. "So you're even older than…" She blushed, concerned that her question might seem rude.

However, the elder simply chuckled and patted her arm. "Yes, my dear, even older. Suffice it to say that I remember when Rome was _Roman_."

Turning back and addressing Josef, he moved back to business. "Now, I believe we need to discuss the situation at hand…"

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Blood Feud (6 of ?) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

**From last chapter:**

_Beth's eyes widened. "So you're even older than…" She blushed, concerned that her question might seem rude._

_However, the elder simply chuckled and patted her arm. "Yes, my dear, even older. Suffice it to say that I remember when Rome was Roman."_

_Turning back and addressing Josef, he moved back to business. "Now, I believe we need to discuss the situation at hand…"_

**Part 6**

Alexander again took his seat amidst the silent bodyguards and gestured for Josef and Mick to sit nearby. Beth and Mick looked at each other, Beth wondering if she should leave or simply stay silently in a corner somewhere.

"Please, my dear," Alexander said pleasantly, "do join us. I believe you may be of some assistance in this matter."

Beth quickly slid into an oversized lounging chair with Mick who instinctively put his arm around her. Despite the polite atmosphere, he wanted there to be no doubt in anyone's mind that she was under his protection and that she was…._his_. Her heart rate, which had been slightly elevated now slowed to a more normal pattern as she relaxed into him. She had transitioned from anxious to excited. Mick smiled inwardly. Nobody would ever accuse Beth Turner of being a shrinking violet.

Josef and Mick proceeded to recap for Alexander the events of the previous week and the actions taken to date. Beth added the results of her research and the trio showed the elder leader the photos of the crime scenes and the ever-present note. The Chairman listened carefully, asking questions and nodding at their reasoning. When the review was completed, the three of them lapsed into silence.

Leaning forward slightly, the elder vampire took a deep breath. "Obviously we have a critical situation here. The Council felt that it warranted a closer look to determine if any additional measures could be taken to mitigate the matter." He looked intently at Joseph. "The other reason for my presence is the Council's concern over recent accounts that the leadership of this region has become less…vigilant. That security has become lax and that personal issues have negatively impacted the leadership of the area."

Beth felt Mick tense beside her. She understood what was implied – that Josef's leadership of the region was being challenged. She wasn't sure what type of leaders they preferred, but she knew Josef was less dictator and more guidance counselor or mentor. An emphasis that worked well with those in the region according to Mick.

Josef betrayed very little reaction to the leader's comments. Inwardly, he was both furious and disturbed. He thought back over his actions and the events of the last several years. There had been a few issues with rogue vamps and the normal type of problems any region had. But then there had also been the Coraline/Morgan Vincent issue that had medical and police personnel looking a bit too closely, the bombing of his offices which had drawn considerable attention, and of course, the Lola fiasco that he had been involved with that even had the FBI, DEA, ATF and the DA's office poking around. Plus he knew there were those who would never trust a human in their ranks. Glancing over to where Beth leaned comfortably against Mick, he realized that even her presence here would be considered damning evidence by some.

But in his defense, his region included more than 400 vampires – second in size only to the Northeastern Region that included New York and Philadelphia areas. He kept the peace, ensured any conflicts or concerns were addressed quickly and quietly. Any issues that had erupted had been properly cleaned up. All in all, those under his leadership were happy, affluent and transparently integrated into the human population.

No, whatever challenge was being made against him wasn't about Lola or Coraline or even the present crisis. There was something else. Some other game that was being played at his expense. He just wasn't sure what the rules were…or who the other players were.

Josef straightened in his chair and looked the Chairman in the eye. "I assure Your Excellency and the Council that the security and secrecy of our community has always been my primary concern." The tightening of his jaw was the only sign of anger he allowed. "Since I took over this position I've brought our security out of the dark ages. We use the most sophisticated electronic and data security systems and have community members integrated into every level of government, finance, and business. Knowing the technology we're up against, I've made sure every member of our community adheres to certain rules of conduct and that they're aware of the consequences if they violate them."

Driven by frustration, Josef stood up and strode to the window. Turning back to the elder vampire, he voiced his suspicions. "Somehow, though, I don't think this is about whether our programs are bright and shiny. Four hundred years has taught me that being paranoid can keep you alive." He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked from Mick and Beth back to the seated leader. "Am I the only one who thinks a few rumors dropped during a crisis would be a good move if somebody wants to grab a region for themselves?"

"You think a vampire would take advantage of the situation to make a play for your position?" Mick shook his head in amazement.

Josef shrugged. "Why not? If you were in a position to profit from it, it would be an advantage hard to pass up."

Alexander nodded and looked appreciatively at Josef. "It's one possibility, which is why I am here in person." He gestured at the crime scene photos and notes. "Your handling of this situation has been admirable. We believe this matter can be resolved quietly by combining our intelligence contacts together with you and your associate's actions locally. The other matter, however, is of equal concern to the Council."

With a smile he gestured for Josef to sit again. "In contrast with some on the Council, I believe you have the right to know the accusations against you. The complaints have been from several different area leaders, though, not just one, although the most vocal of them has very powerful connections on the Council."

"Let me guess," drawled Josef, "this vamp with connections wouldn't possibly be Vincent DuPre?"

"Interesting that you would immediately name DuPre," mused the elder leader. "I gather you are acquainted?"

"Who's Vincent DuPre?" asked Mick.

Joseph smiled tightly. "Vincent Jean DuPre heads the region around New Orleans. We go way back. I mean _way_ back. I initially ran into him somewhere around Calais during the French Revolution. Ran into him again during WWII - he was part of the Vichy government. He's an arrogant bastard. With him it's always about a woman or power…or both. Oh, and did I mention that his uncle is on the Council?" He leaned back and studied the Council leader. "And I'm willing to bet the other complaints came from Charleston and Atlanta…maybe even Dallas?"

"Interesting," the elder repeated. "Why would you identify those areas?"

"Charles Rawlings, head of the Atlanta region is married to DuPre's sister. Martin Terpen, who runs Charleston, owes his position to DuPre who basically bought it for him in exchange for unlimited shipping access to the Atlantic. As for Dallas, it really doesn't matter who's in charge – DuPre owns the majority share of nearly every oil pipeline in the state."

Alexander frowned and nodded. "All points I'm aware of. But there have been more strategically advantageous times and situations if he was looking to 'enhance' his powerbase. Why now?"

Joseph shook his head. "No idea. But whatever his motivation, I assure you he's not doing it for the good of the Los Angeles community."

"Well," said the Council leader, standing up, "you can ask him yourself. He's planning on arriving the day after tomorrow as part of the intelligence consultant team the Council is sending."

"Wonderful," Josef said sarcastically. "Should be fun."

The Council elder gathered up his coat and moved toward the door. "Unfortunately, I'm unable to stay. I'm expected back in New York by noon." He turned and addressed Mick and Beth who stood nearby. "You both need to be vigilant. These attackers have both warned and shown they are willing to kill humans as well as vampires. If they know who Joseph's friends are, they know about your relationship with Beth. These warped individuals undoubtedly will target her for 'sleeping with the enemy.'"

* * *

With a gesture, his bodyguards moved to create a corridor around the elder. "The Council will expect regular updates, Josef. Good luck."

* * *

Beth finished applying her mascara and quickly swiped some gloss across her lips. Downstairs she could hear Mick moving around the kitchen. After Alexander had left, Mick and Beth had returned home and managed to grab enough sleep to get them through what they expected to be another busy night.

Entering the kitchen, she slipped her arms around Mick, laying her head on his broad back, her fingers running over his taunt abs.

"Mmmm…good morning," she said with a smile.

Mick grinned and peered over his shoulder at her blonde head. "Actually, it's good afternoon." Turning around, he drew her into his arms for a proper hug. With a sigh, he asked "I don't suppose you'd be willing to let me send you to your Mom's for a few days, would you?

He flinched at the look he got in answer to his question. "Never mind. Dumb question," he muttered.

An hour later, they walked into Josef's where his team of high tech snoops was hard at work gathering and analyzing photos and data.

"About time you two showed up," Josef commented. "We've made an important breakthrough. By analyzing the locations of the previous hits, we think tonight's hit will take place somewhere within this twelve block area," he said, indicating an area in the Long Beach district.

Mick moved forward to study the area outlined on the map. "Good. I'll position myself in the area and see what I can find out."

"I'm going with you!" exclaimed Beth, punching him in the arm.

Josef gave a sly grin. "I figured three sets of eyes would actually be even better." Seeing their surprise, he shrugged. "What? I've got at least as much at stake here. Besides," he said with a grin, "somebody needs to chaperone you two."

Mick rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air. "Whatever." Looking at Josef in his standard silk suit and tie, Mick raised an eyebrow. "If you're planning on going, I'd recommend wearing something a little less…designer."

Two hours later, Mick eased the Benz into a parking space in the outer parking lot of St. Mary's Memorial Hospital. From this point, they were within ten minutes of the six most likely targets. A half moon hung above them as the traffic passed steadily by. Mick pulled out the map and looked again at the main thoroughfares available. Beth pulled on a chocolate milkshake as she peered at the map in Mick's hands.

The quiet was broken by the trilling of Josef's cell. Ryder and his team had been instructed to contact them immediately upon any police activity or news, and Josef quickly answered the call.

"Yeah. What…." Mick spun around at hearing the tension in Josef's voice. The flash of his eyes confirmed that something had happened.

Josef snapped his phone off and took a breath to calm himself. "Ryder just received an anonymous tip. The caller said the hit tonight is set for the Long Beach Outpatient Clinic near Magnolia and 4th at 11pm."

Mick quickly checked the map. "We're not far from there, and it's 10:35 now." Putting the car in gear, he quickly headed south towards their destination. "You know, we're probably walking into a trap."

"Yeah," Josef agreed. "I thought about that. But it beats sitting around waiting for something to blow up."

Less than ten minutes later, Mick turned onto a side street and parked halfway down the block. The three quickly got out of the car and slipped into an adjoining alley that led to the back of the clinic. As they approached the building, Mick suddenly turned around to the others.

"OK. Here's the rules. I'm the PI, you're both along for the ride. If I say stop, you stop. If I say quiet, you stay quiet. And if it all goes to hell, Josef, I'm trusting you to get Beth out of there and keep her safe. AND out of trouble."

Josef rolled his eyes. "Yes, Dad. I'll babysit if the need arises. But you know, an extra set of fangs might come in handy."

"Now wait a minute!" Beth nearly stomped her foot but caught herself in time. "I'm not some little damsel in distress. I don't stay in the car, I don't scream and faint, and I certainly don't need a babysitter."

Mick sighed in exasperation. "Hey, you guys wanted to come along. Fine. But this isn't a game." Turning toward Josef, he explained. "We not only need to nab this guy, but we need to do it in a way that doesn't destroy evidence the cops need to convict him. And if he shows up with a couple bite marks in the neck, well…..that wouldn't exactly help dispel the rumors about vampires, would it?" Looking at the fiery woman next to him, he softened a bit. "And Beth, I know you're competent and an experienced reporter, but this is an uncontrolled situation and I can't pay attention to my job if I'm worried about you."

He stopped her response with a raised hand. "You told that girl, Sam, at Buzzwire that I was old school. In some ways, yes I am. This is one of those ways. It's just part of who I am."

Beth sighed and nodded her compliance. Satisfied with their answers, Mick turned back towards the darkened alleyway. His keen night vision quickly noticed that the back door to the clinic was ajar. He knew the moment Josef saw it as well. Motioning for them to hang back, he approached the door silently, senses on high alert. He could smell recent human presence, but knew that could be from employees leaving late, winos stumbling by, or others.

He pulled the door open slowly, grateful for its silent movement. He slipped into the dark hallway, alert to anything or anyone that might be waiting. Moving further down the hall, he checked each door as he passed. Janitor's closet, electrical closet, supply closet, restroom. He sensed Josef and Beth entering behind him and shook his head in resignation. He loved them both, but they couldn't follow instructions worth a crap.

Once they reached his position, the three moved into a large room filled with exam tables, obviously used for those donating blood. The two vampires turned to their left, where the unmistakable scent of fresh blood drew them towards a door at the far end of the room. As they approached, they saw the source of the scent – a pint bag of blood laid sliced open in a bowl next to the door. Approaching cautiously, Mick tucked Beth behind him before trying the doorknob. The door swung inward revealing a small room lined with the special type of coolers used to store blood products. Almost instantly, Mick and Josef reeled backwards, retching at the stench.

"Silver," gagged Mick. "The room reeks of silver."

Beth, unaffected, quickly moved further into the small room. The doors to each cooler were opened, revealing shelves of slashed blood packets sprinkled with what looked like silver dust. Blood pooled in the bottom of each cooler, giving the room the look of a Stephen King setting. In the center of the room, on a silver stainless steel table, sat a small pile of blood packets with a wooden stake through them and a note on top.

Beth snatched up the note and hurried out of the cooler room to where the two vampires had retreated away from the open door. As Mick and Josef attempted to catch their breath, Beth read the note aloud. "As lambs to the slaughter, the defiled draw near to the blood of the righteous. And thus the cleansing burst begins."

Josef peered around them. "I really don't like the sound of that."

"Me either," Mick muttered, quickly drawing Beth further away from the small room. "Let's get out of here."

Mick led the trio quickly through the facility back towards the alley. Suddenly a shotgun blast ripped through the quiet of the hallway followed by the staccato report of single shots. With his preternatural speed, Mick gathered Beth to his chest and moved her into a closet to their left. He ignored a burning pain in his left shoulder as he shielded Beth with his body, feeling her tremble beneath him. His eyes shown frosted blue and with senses on full alert, Mick could smell the fresh stench of silver in the air.

"Stay here," he growled quietly to Beth.

Mick paused at the opening to the hallway. To his left lay the open door to the safety of the darkened alley. To his right, somewhere, were Josef and at least one gunman wielding silver ammunition, if the pain in his shoulder was correct. Part of him wanted to snatch of Beth and whisk her to safety. Logically, though, he knew he needed to find Josef. He had been in the back of their group and had most likely taken the brunt of the attack.

Mick's keen sight saw a small movement from the floor some fifteen feet back down the hall. And another form walked slowly toward the figure on the floor.

"Fear not, O righteous of the world, for thus shall we rid the earth of evil and darkness." With that, the attacker raised a rifle and aimed at where Josef lay helpless. With a deep snarl, Mick launched himself at the fanatic, dislodging the weapon from his grasp and flinging the man down the hall where he hit the wall and crumpled to the floor, unmoving. Another figure that had been standing further down the hall looked at Mick in horror and panicked, fleeing out through a side entrance.

Mick quickly knelt beside his friend and rolled him over to get a better look at his injuries. Josef was basically unresponsive except for a groan and a fluttering of his eyes.

Beth appeared beside him. "How badly is he hurt?"

"It's bad," Mick acknowledged. "Their ammo was silver. First silver buckshot, then individual bullets from a semi-automatic."

Beth followed as Mick quickly carried the unconscious man to the exam room and placed him on one of the tables. Quickly removing Josef's shirt, Mick rolled him over and was horrified to see the damage that had yet to even start healing. It appeared that three of the large caliber bullets had hit Josef along with dozens of the small shots.

He prodded some of the small wounds. "That's from the buckshot – silver but small and painful but not lethal." He rolled his shoulder and Beth for the first time saw the damage to Mick's leather jacket.

"You were hit too!" she cried. "It's like poison to you, isn't it??"

"Yeah," he nodded, "but I only caught a couple small beads. It can wait. For now," he said looking back to where his friend lay unconscious, "we need to get the large bullets out of Josef. Help me look for some type of scalpel or tweezers I can use."

A hurried check of the surgical office across the hall turned up a sterile kit complete with all the tools they needed. Mick quickly began removing the slugs, careful not to touch them himself. The first slug was badly deformed, but the second was reasonably intact. Upon removing it, Mick was horrified to see a liquid oozing from the hollow tip.

"Bastards filled the bullets with liquid silver nitrate." He looked at Beth with grim concern. "That's bad. Really, really bad. It means the silver has seeped into his tissue. I can get most of the solid silver out, but there's nothing I can do about the liquid." He quickly set to removing the third large slug and as many of the small shots as he could.

Within minutes, he bandaged the wounds and stepped back. "Now it's up to him. We can't stay here much longer," he said looking at his watch. "The cops are going to find a trashed clinic with a dead body and we can't be here when they do."

Suddenly, Josef moaned and rolled onto his side. "Shit, that hurts!"

"Can you get up?" Mick asked. "We can't hang around here much longer."

In response, Josef retched and arched his back. Mick moved to catch him as he moved about on the table. "Beth, see if you can find some ice somewhere."

A moment later, she was back carrying four ice trays from the break room freezer. "Will this help?"

Mick nodded and directed her to empty the cubes into a large towel which he placed around Josef's neck to counteract the sudden fever he knew had spiked.

As Josef struggled to catch his breath, Beth stood by helplessly. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No," Mick said shaking his head. "We just need to get him some untainted blood. As far as I can see, though, they destroyed all the blood stored here. And I don't think he'll make it even to Guillermo, let alone all the way back to the house."

Beth's throat suddenly felt raw as she watched her friend fight the effects of the silver poison in his body. She had been useless to help him as he'd been savagely attacked. _It could just as __easily have been Mick._ Her gut twisted to think of the possibility. She looked over to where Mick stood, his hand resting on his best friend's shoulder, his grief evident on his face.

A calm came over Beth as she realized that she _could_ help. She knew what was needed. Blood. And she had done this before with Mick. She glanced at his face. Mick would definitely object to what she had in mind. Well, she told herself, too bad. She refused to stand and watch a friend die when she could prevent it.

Beth took her jacket off quickly and pushed the sleeves of her knit top up above her elbows. Mick caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and knew immediately what she planned to do.

"No!"

"Yes, Mick! I can't let Josef die."

Mick shook his head violently. "Josef's almost unconscious. He won't know to be gentle or to stop after just a pint."

"Well, then," she smiled, "it's a good thing I have you here to help."

She moved towards Josef's head and was surprised to see his eyes quickly open, the frosted white already in place. With a quiet hiss, he reared his head back, revealing fully extended fangs. Suddenly, Josef seemed to regain awareness.

"Beth?! God, Mick, get her away from me!"

"No, Josef," Beth said quietly. "You need blood."

"I'll get it someplace else."

Mick tightened his grasp on his friend and responded quietly. "No time, old friend." He tamped down on the panic he felt inside. "I'll be here to protect her. Take it only from her arm. And no more than a pint. Just enough to survive until we can get you home."

Josef nodded in resignation and held his best friend's gaze. "Stop me, Mick. Don't let me take too much."

"Don't worry. I'll protect her."

With that guarantee, Josef grasped her offered arm and with a roar, sank his fangs into her arm. Unlike the relatively gentle feeding she had given Mick, Josef's bite was sharp and painful. She knew that his desperate need coupled with his lack of control were behind it.

Beside her, Mick watched, torn between wanting to save his friend yet terrified for the woman he loved as he watched her lifeforce drained. When Beth raised her head and looked in his eyes, he felt as though he'd been sucker-punched. All the trust, all the love she felt for him was there.

Mick took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. _God, don't let me screw this up._ His eyes flew open as he felt Beth touch his hand. He grasped her outstretched hand, lacing their fingers together and drawing their clasped hands up to his lips for a gentle kiss. It was time.

"Josef…Josef!" Mick moved into Josef's field of vision and attempted to get his attention.

After a tense moment, Josef ceased drawing the succulent nectar into his mouth. There was something nagging at the back of his consciousness – a reason that he needed to stop. That it was vital that he stop. Reluctantly, he retracted his fangs and released the flesh grasped in his hands.

His mind cleared quickly as his physical strength returned. As reason returned, he remembered what had happened and looked quickly to the pair standing beside him. Beth was reassuring Mick that she was fine. That his timing had been just right. Mick was tending to the punctures on her arm, taking time to stroke her hair or kiss her forehead as he disinfected and wrapped her wounds.

Josef struggled to find his voice. "Are you ok?"

The couple turned to him and Beth smiled. "I'm fine. How are you feeling?"

"Better," he assured her. "Not so good, but good enough to get out of here."

With Mick carrying Josef, the three of them hurried out the back door and to the Benz. Beth leaned over the seat to help Josef get comfortable in the back. As she started to turn away, Josef caught her hand.

"Beth...," Josef stammered.

Beth smiled. "It's ok."

Josef shook his head and glanced at where Mick was sliding in behind the wheel. "I just want to say 'thank you'. You've proven that everything I thought about you at the beginning was wrong. What you did tonight…I know you did that out of friendship not just for Mick but for me." He smiled weakly and squeezed her hand. "It's been a very long time since I called any human 'friend'."

As the Benz pulled smoothly away from the curb, Beth returned the gesture and smiled widely. "We're more than friends, Josef. We're family."


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Blood Feud (7 of ?) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

**From last chapter:**

_"Beth...," Josef stammered._

_Beth smiled. "It's ok."_

_Josef shook his head and glanced at where Mick was sliding in behind the wheel. "I just want to say 'thank you'. You've proven that everything I thought about you at the beginning was wrong. What you did tonight…I know you did that out of friendship not just for Mick but for me." He smiled weakly and squeezed her hand. "It's been a very long time since I called any human 'friend'."_

_As the Benz pulled smoothly away from the curb, Beth returned the gesture and smiled widely. "We're more than friends, Josef. We're family."_

**Part 7**

Josef had lapsed back into unconsciousness before they reached his house. As soon as they parked, Beth hurried ahead to open the door as Mick carried his friend inside. Quickly stripping him, Mick lowered him into his cooler and lowered the lid, hoping the restorative effects of the freezer would help his friend fight the infection in his system. He slipped out of the room and found Beth waiting at the end of the hall.

As he walked towards her, Beth saw the exhaustion and worry in his eyes. Moving towards him, she walked into his open arms and felt him gather her to his chest.

"Will he be alright?"

Mick took a deep breath and took a moment to appreciate the warmth of the woman in his arms. He knew the vision of her being fed on would haunt him for a long time. He knew she had done it because of her friendship with Josef, but he also couldn't help the unreasonable rush of jealousy that he had felt. He couldn't help the feeling that Josef had intruded on something he considered his private privilege. _Beth's mine. __No one else has the right to touch her._

But he had heard Beth's response to Josef. She considered Josef family. What she had done had been to help a family member, not for any more intimate reason. Because of her genuine gift, his best friend at least had a fighting chance to survive.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I need to go downstairs to the study and call a couple numbers."

Beth looked up at him. "First we need to get the buckshot out of your shoulder. Come sit down and let me take care of it." A quick examination showed Mick had been lucky – only two small pellets had hit him and both had been slowed down by his leather coat, barely breaking the skin. Within a couple minutes, she was done and his wounds had vanished. Washing off her hands, Beth turned to follow Mick. "Can I go with you? I really don't want to be alone right now."

Mick led her down to Josef's private getaway and immediately moved to access the wall safe. Mick was the only individual Josef had ever trusted with the location and combination of the vault, and he quickly accessed the contents including the list of Council contacts. Blowing out a breath, he moved to the secure phone at the corner desk and dialed the emergency number listed. He quickly explained the events of the evening and Josef's current condition, asking if they had any suggestions to help counteract the silver poisoning. Several Council members, including Alexander were present and listened intently to the situation report and assured Mick that his actions had been appropriate. As for Josef, the Council could only recommend he be injected with blood every few hours. Other than that, Josef would have to fight this fight alone.

Before they hung up, Mick was reminded of the Council team that would be arriving the following day.

"And Mick," Alexander continued. "Until further notice, you are in charge of the Southwestern Region."

Mick was speechless. Regional responsibility was only held by senior vampires with centuries of political contacts. To be given the responsibility, even as a stop gap, was shocking.

"Your Excellency, I'm honored, but…"

"Mick," Alexander silenced his concerns, "you're familiar with the local community and you know more about the current situation than anyone else. Plus," he said bluntly, "I think you're the only individual that I trust not to have a personal agenda."

Mick took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll do my best, Your Excellency."

"Stay in touch, Mick," acknowledge the leader. "And keep us apprised of Josef's condition."

Mick hung up the phone and sat in stunned silence. Beth knelt in front of him and touched his arm, concerned with his continued silence.

"Mick?" she ventured. "What's wrong?"

Startled, Mick looked up into Beth's blue eyes. He wrapped her into his embrace and ducked his head into the crook of her neck, breathing in her calming essence. After a moment, he took a deep breath and released her.

"The Council has named me Regional Leader while Josef's sick."

Beth smiled tentatively. "Well, that's good, right? I mean, Alexander and the Council obviously trust you."

Mick shook his head and stood, pacing across the room. "I don't know what Alexander was thinking! I don't have the experience or the…ruthlessness for it." Mick ran his hand through his hair and gestured widely. "Tomorrow, a group of four-or-five hundred year old vampires are going to show up to poke around and play a bunch of mind games. That's Josef's thing – he's good at it. I'm not!" Mick sank into the couch. "I couldn't even manage one manipulative ex-wife. What the hell am I going to do with a whole group?"

Beth bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud at Mick's flustered reaction. "Sweetheart, if Alexander put you in charge, he must think you can handle it." She sat next to him and snuggled into his side. "You're intelligent, you know all the major players in the region from being around Josef for fifty-some years and the team coming from the Council is going to be more focused on helping solve the problem of the attacks than in giving you a hard time."

Mick kissed the top of her head and laid his head back. "I hope you're right." Rolling to his feet, he pulled her up and led her back upstairs toward the main living areas. "They mentioned that we should give Josef direct injections of blood every four hours to help counteract the poison."

While Josef preferred 'fresh' nourishment, Mick knew he kept some packaged blood on hand. Mick grabbed a syringe and some blood and had soon given Josef an infusion. Leaving Beth to keep an eye on him, Mick ran back to their place to grab some clothes, their laptops and all the blood he had on hand. Back at Josef's, Mick and Beth settled on the couch with their computers and phones and set to work – Beth on finding out what the news had reported regarding the clinic attack while Mick worked on issues connected to his new leadership responsibilities and preparations for the arriving team.

After a couple hours of work, Beth stretched and wandered into the kitchen to grab an apple while Mick went to give Josef another infusion. Munching on her apple, Beth printed off the newest police photos and reports to share with Mick. As she spread them on the coffee table, Mick came back into the room and wandered over to see her findings.

"The police got an 'anonymous' tip that an attack had occurred," Beth said, well aware that she'd made the untraceable call shortly after they'd left the scene. "Officers responding found one male, deceased, which they identified as Bobby Trent, younger brother of previously arrested Peter Trent." She turned to Mick and nodded. "Yeah, another relative of our favorite fanatic."

"What is this, a family business?" Mick muttered.

Beth continued. "Investigators spoke with clinic officials that confirmed that approximately 400 pints of blood were destroyed. Initial test results revealed that the attackers contaminated all the blood with a fine silver nitrate powder."

Mick sat back and thought for a moment. "So now they've used blade, fire and silver, just as the notes say." He looked at Beth, his mind connecting bits of evidence. "But I don't think the notes came from Trent or his family. I checked them out after Peter Trent and the others were picked up. They're from back East somewhere – I'm waiting for more details from one of my contacts – and they tend to work as long-haul truck drivers or farm hands. As far as I can tell, there's not a high school diploma between them, and the notes are too well crafted to have come from them. I think there's somebody else involved – somebody pulling their strings. Somebody who knows about us and is using muscle that's easily led."

Beth looked up from her notes. "So Trent and his family are just hired stooges for somebody with money, power, and most frighteningly, knowledge about vampires."

"Yeah," Mick nodded, "kinda changes the focus of the investigation." He looked at his watch and reluctantly got to his feet. Turning toward Beth, he sighed. "The team will be arriving in about half an hour so we'd better get changed. And Beth," he warned, "stay close when they get here. They'll all have been briefed about you, but I want to make it clear that you're off limits. And don't volunteer _anything_ until I figure out who's playing what games."

Beth took his outstretched hand and let him pull her up and into his embrace. His head lowered to hers, his lips stealing all reason from her in a deep kiss as his hands pressed her closer to his body. Finally needing air, she broke the kiss, nipping his lower lip as she moved away.

With a grin, Beth poked Mick in the chest. "I'll be good. Now let's get these notes put away and get prepared for our 'guests'."

Forty-five minutes later they had straightened up the living room, stashing their laptops and notes downstairs in Josef's study. Both Mick and Beth had grabbed their respective lunches and Beth was just finishing up their dishes when the doorbell rang.

Quickly wiping her hands, Beth followed Mick to the door. With a last glance of resignation, Mick opened the door and invited the group in. Firmly keeping Beth in front of him, Mick led the six key representatives into the living room, leaving their support staff outside. Turning to the senior vampires, Mick took a close look at the group.

The four men and two women were all attractive, intensely alert individuals. The obvious leader of the group was a tall dark haired man with an aristocratic air about him. Looking around the room, his eyes flickered over Mick then landed on Beth where the man's eyes lingered with interest.

Drawing himself up, Mick stepped forward. "Welcome to Los Angeles. I'm Mick St. John, acting Regional Leader." He drew Beth closer to his side. "This is my fiancée, Beth Turner. I assume the Council briefed you on her presence here and on Josef's current condition."

"Yes," the leader said with a cold smile. "The Council informed us of your…relationship." The vampire spoke as though the subject was extremely distasteful and degrading. "As for Josef's current condition, we would like to see him immediately."

Mick fought his desire to tell the arrogant SOB what _he'd_ like to inform him of.

Speaking levelly, Mick arched an eyebrow. "I'm certainly grateful for the investigative assistance your committee is here to provide, but I was assured by the Council that this is neither an inquisition nor an invasion." He stared down the leader of the group, relying on the one senior connection available to him. "Or was Alexander mistaken?"

A flash of what could have been respect flared in the senior vamp's eyes. "My apologies," he said, with a nod. "My manners are most definitely lacking." Gesturing to the others in his group, he introduced each by name and region or responsibility. Representatives from South and Central America, Canada and the US acknowledged Mick with the traditional bow given when meeting another regional leader. Finally, the leader turned to Mick and approached him with a manner that reminded Mick of a snake.

"And I am Vincent DuPre, Regional Leader of the Southern Region, based in the Parish of New Orleans," he announced. The traditional bow he gave Mick had a subtle flavor of mockery and didn't wait for Mick's responding acknowledgement.

_So this is __DuPre__Probably wants to see just how close to death Josef is….see if he can start moving his own operatives into the area._

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way," continued DuPre, "we'd like to see Josef to evaluate his condition." He shook his head, pretending sadness at his adversary's condition. "I'm so sorry to hear of the terrible attack on my esteemed fellow leader. We all certainly hope he will recover, but as the senior committee member, it is my responsibility to examine Josef to determine whether he will be able to return to his duties or if a more…_experienced_ replacement should be recommended.

"Experienced?" asked Mick, sensing he was beginning to get to the real purpose. "Such as you?"

DuPre's controlled laugh rippled from him. "My dear young vamp," he replied condescendingly, "I'm much too busy running my own area as well as assisting others in neighboring regions and aiding my uncle on various Council matters. However, if additional assistance is needed, I do have a suitable individual in mind." He turned towards the doorway through which they'd entered and extended his hand.

The support staff standing just outside the room parted to allow a beautiful dark haired woman to join them. She crossed to DuPre and reached up to kiss him passionately, then turned and smiled at Mick and Beth.

"St. John, I believe you know my new bride…"

Mick's mouth was suddenly dry.

"Coraline."


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Blood Feud (8 of ?) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

**From last chapter:**

_The support staff standing just outside the room parted to allow a beautiful dark haired woman to join them. She crossed to __DuPre__ and reached up to kiss him passionately, then turned and smiled at Mick and Beth._

_"St. John, I believe you know my new __bride__…"_

_Mick's mouth was suddenly dry. _

_"__Coraline__."_

**Part 8**

"Hello, Mick," Coraline purred. As an afterthought, she added icily, "Hello, Beth."

Mick looked back at DuPre in disbelief. "Your _**bride**_??"

DuPre smiled, obviously enjoying having been able to shock the younger vamp. "Yes, we married just last month." He waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, Coraline and I have known each other for centuries, but recently we found we were quite enjoying each other's company and she does make not only a formidable ally, but a most…enthusiastic consort as well." As though to taunt him, he added, "Wouldn't you agree, St. John?"

Mick refused to be goaded into responding. He struggled to gather his thoughts, his mind reeling from both Coraline's sudden appearance together with the unexpected news. Mick mentally shook himself. _T__ime for that__ later_.

His mind shifted into high gear, quickly taking stock of the situation. Before him was Josef's long time nemesis who obviously planned to make a play for the Los Angeles region under the guise of 'helping'. Added now to the mix was Coraline who Mick knew never did anything without a hidden motive.

Mick glanced back at Coraline. Less than a year ago, she'd petitioned the Vatican to block his upcoming marriage to Beth, even making a play to get him back. When she'd failed, her last words to him had been a warning that she wasn't giving up. Now suddenly, she shows up married to Josef's enemy, positioned to take over his region.

So just how many different agendas were in play here? Josef had commented that with DuPre, it was always a play for either power or a woman. _Or perhaps power by way of a woman._So if DuPre managed to get Mick dismissed and his own wife placed in charge, he would ostensibly rule all of the US south of the Mason-Dixon line from coast to coast either directly or by proxy.

And Coraline – what better twisted revenge than to control Mick's life by being both his Regional Leader as well as his sire, able to meddle in both his life and his marriage. Beth would never be safe if Coraline was in charge. He dismissed any possibility that this "marriage" of DuPre and Coraline was anything more than one of convenience and a mutual desire for power. No, his concern was more that he was undeniably outmatched by the two experienced vampires.

And he couldn't forget the ongoing situation with the vampire hunters who continued to attack their blood supplies.

If vampires were able to get a headache, Mick was pretty sure he'd have a raging migraine. As it was, he really, _really_ wanted a double scotch right now. Between dealing with Josef's injuries and preparing for the arrival of the committee, Mick hadn't gotten any sleep in nearly 24 hours, and it looked like there wouldn't be an opportunity anytime soon. Being tired certainly wasn't helping right now.

But Mick had learned years ago that when faced with a formidable opponent, the best defense was often a bold offense. In this case, it meant _**bluff**_.

"Well," Mick said with a jaunty air, "unless anybody else has another surprise to share with the class, I believe the senior representatives wanted to look in on Josef." With that, he grabbed Beth's hand and swept past DuPre and Coraline, leading the visitors towards Josef's room.

Beth glanced up at Mick as she walked with him through the house. Sensing her eyes on him, Mick turned and gave her a quick smile and squeezed her hand. Beth returned his smile and pressed closer to his side.

Beth pitched her voice for Mick's ears only. "Are you ok?"

Mick nodded and whispered to her, "Yeah. Just trying to figure out how to swim with the sharks," he said sarcastically. "This is really Josef's thing, not mine."

Arriving at Josef's room, Mick led the small contingent in, moving first to check on his condition. Mick opened the lid to Josef's freezer, noting that he was still unconscious and covered him with a towel for privacy. He then stepped aside as each representative, including DuPre and Coraline peered in to make their personal assessment of Josef's condition.

One of the female representatives turned to Mick. "Has he been unresponsive since the attack?"

"No," Mick said, shaking his head. "He regained consciousness for a while after the silver bullets were removed. He passed out on the way here and hasn't been fully awake since."

"And he has only received the injections of packaged blood?"

"No," Beth said, speaking up for the first time. "I fed him while he was still conscious."

The visiting members turned their stunned faces to stare at her. The Canadian delegate broke the silence, saying "I was under the impression that you did not provide such services."

Mick opened his mouth to answer, but Beth beat him to the punch. "I don't _service_ anybody. Other than what I choose to do with Mick, which is **nobody's** business, I don't do that type of thing." She shrugged. "But Josef is family and it was an emergency."

Mick moved to her side and slipped his arm around her waist. "We took precautions and Josef took only a pint or so – just enough to stabilize him until we could get him back here."

"How touching," DuPre mocked. "I'm sure we're all impressed with her selfless sacrifice." He looked at the other delegates and sniffed. "However, since Josef is unlikely to be capable of fulfilling his duties anytime soon, I believe the Council should be so informed." He turned to Mick. "I assume there is a room where we can talk to the Council in private?"

Mick bristled at the imperious tone of the man. "Of course," he replied levelly. "I'll have a secure line routed into the boardroom."

"And you will join us, won't you, St. John?" DuPre's pretense of civility was barely in place.

"Of course," Mick replied. "I wouldn't miss it."

Fifteen minutes later, the delegates were seated around Josef's inlaid rosewood conference table in his primary boardroom. Mick nodded to Ryder as he completed the secure line setup.

Ryder took a last look at the group and walked past Mick on his way out of the room. "Better you than me," he muttered.

"Thanks," Mick said, rolling his eyes. "You still monitoring the police and FBI traffic?"

"Yeah," Ryder nodded. "If anything happens at any of the hospitals or blood banks, I'll let you know."

"Tell Beth if you get any leads, but interrupt me if you have to," Mick instructed.

Mick closed the door behind Ryder then turned to the group. DuPre had taken Josef's usual command seat at the end of the table, so Mick moved to the other end, taking the communications command panel with him. As soon as he was seated, Mick punched in the phone number for the Council.

Within seconds the speakers crackled to life as an assistant answered the phone and transferred the call to where the Council members awaited.

"_Council_."

"Good evening, sir..." began Mick.

"Malachi! So good to hear your voice," interrupted DuPre. "I assume the entire group is present?"

"_Yes, Vincent_," replied the calm and commanding voice of Alexander. "_W__e are here as prearranged."_

"Good," smiled DuPre, leaning back in his chair. "We've had a chance to take a look at Josef and frankly, I believe we need to move ahead with making more permanent arrangements for leadership of this region."

Yet another Council member asked, "_Konstantin will not survive, then?"_

"I doubt it," DuPre answered.

"We don't know that yet," bristled Mick, glaring at DuPre.

"_Mick_," Alexander's voice injected, _"how is Josef?"_

Mick saw DuPre suppress a quick look of annoyance and took a deep breath. "No change yet. But he's no worse, either." He looked pointedly at the others around the table. "We're not ready to give up yet."

"As admirable as loyalty is," DuPre drawled, "I believe we need to plan for what I believe will be the inevitable result and take steps to stabilize the region with a long-term solution."

"_A solution__ I understand__ you've already __worked out for us_," commented Alexander.

"My only concern is to ensure the continued safety and security of our kind," Dupre responded smoothly. "I have, though, worked diligently with other leaders to develop a solution that would benefit everyone concerned."

The Council member DuPre had referred to as Malachi spoke up. "_I've discussed Vincent's suggestions with both him and other regional leaders and we agree that his proposed plan has definite merit."_

"I continue to hope I can be of assistance," DuPre murmured with a smirk.

"_Yes_," Alexander said, with a trace of wry humor in his voice. "_Your Uncle Malachi just informed us __an hour__ ago of your__ recommendations.__ First, I suppose, we should congratulate you on your recent marriage which, surprisingly, none of us were made aware of."_

_Well, that explained why Alexander hadn't told him ahead of time about __Coraline_ Mick glanced to where DuPre and Coraline sat calmly next to each other at the other end of the table and felt a lump in his gut. He had a feeling he was about to find out what kind of twist they had planned.

_"While certainly the Council will consider your recommendations, I see no reason why, at this time, any permanent changes need to be made." _Alexander continued,_ "Josef Konstantin may yet recover and, in his absence, Mick St. John is quite capable of handling regional affairs."_

"Actually, Alexander, I must respectfully disagree," DuPre responded. "While St. John is, I'm sure, sincere in his efforts, I don't believe he has the breadth or depth of experience to handle the regional responsibilities especially in light of the current local crisis." DuPre flicked a piece of lint from his jacket. "It has long been an accepted practice to entrust regional responsibilities to those with sufficient knowledge of the challenges faced through the years. While he may _someday_ be capable of such responsibility, he currently is very young. Inexperienced. And, I believe, easily influenced by those with conflicting priorities."

Mick froze in his seat. Whatever DuPre had planned, he'd figured it revolved around Josef. Now it was obvious that if he couldn't get the Council to buy off on replacing Josef, that his backup plan involved discrediting Mick. He felt anger boiling up and struggled to maintain his composure.

"_Explain_," a Council member demanded. "_To w__hat__ influences do you refer?"_

DuPre shrugged. "We're well aware of the current situation here in Los Angeles. Those involved in the attacks have been shown to be humans who have somehow gained detailed information about specific community members. Josef entrusted the investigation into this matter to St. John based on his experience as a Private Investigator. He, in turn, relied heavily on information gathered from his human girlfriend and her contacts."

Mick felt the bile rising in his throat and glanced at Coraline only to see her staring at him with a hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth. He should have expected something like this. More than anyone in the room, Coraline would know his weaknesses. And she knew his greatest vulnerability was Beth. Attack Beth, and Mick would move to defend her over protect himself. _Yeah, __DuPre__ and __Coraline__ had carefully crafted __this plan._

"His human has had complete access to all strategic and tactical plans and has even directed the investigation at times," continued the vamp. "She has persuaded St John, and thru him, Konstantin to restrict their investigation and actions against these vampire hunters, even shielding humans from them."

"That's a lie," hissed Mick.

"_That is a very serious allegation," _came the voice of a Council member._ "__What proof do you have?"_

"Granted," nodded DuPre, "Much of our knowledge is circumstantial, but the timing of certain attacks is highly suspect. In fact, St. John," he said, turning to look at Mick, "the attack on Josef was following a lead from one of her contacts, was it not?"

Mick slowly rose from his chair, anger threatening in his silvering eyes. "So this is what you and Coraline have planned. Eliminate Beth, discredit me, marginalize Josef so you can put Coraline in charge of the one region she's been told she's not welcome in."

The other delegates around the table suddenly seemed to realize that they were in the midst of what might be a personal vendetta. One of the other male vampires leaned forward and looked from Mick to DuPre and back. "Why would DuPre's wife not be welcome here?"

"Josef was persuaded by St. John's human to ban her," sneered DuPre from his end of the table. "Poor thing is so jealous of Coraline's past relationship with St. John that she even staked her once in a jealous rage."

Mick glared down the table at the older vamp. "First of all, her name is Beth, not 'St. John's human'. Second, that's not why Beth staked her." A realization suddenly washed over Mick. _This is __Coraline's__ game._ _He doesn'__t know!_

A small smile spread across Mick's face as his gaze shifted to his ex while he continued to address DuPre. "Your wife hasn't told you the whole story, has she?" He looked at DuPre and grinned. "She's good at that." He straightened up and strode towards the door. "In fact, since she's obviously been brought into the discussion, I think Beth should be here to answer these allegations."

Mick wrenched open the door and stepped into the hall. Looking down the hall towards where he knew Beth was working in the living room, he yelled, "Hey, Beth!"

A moment later, Beth appeared at the end of the hall. "Yeah?"

Mick looked at her grimly. "You _need_ to be in this meeting. Now."

Beth quickly joined him, giving him a questioning glance. Mick shook his head and ushered her into the room in front of him and pushed the door closed behind him.

"Council members, ladies and gentlemen," Mick said, standing with Beth at his side, "this is my fiancée, Miss Elizabeth Sara Turner. And yes, she is human. What you may not know is that I have sought and received the blessings of both the Vatican and the Council in support of our upcoming marriage."

The representatives in the room murmured between themselves, while noises coming thru the speakers in the room confirmed a similar reaction among Council members.

Mick turned and addressed Beth. "DuPre has alleged that you have deliberately mislead and planted false leads in our investigation here in Los Angeles."

Beth's eyes flashed as she snapped around to look at DuPre. "That's a lie. I would never endanger Mick or Josef or anyone in the vampire community." Her eyes shifted to DuPre's right where Coraline sat glaring at her.

"Let me guess," Beth asked levelly, "your wife told you that I'm a bad influence on her dear Mick."

"Oh, that's another thing," Mick said lightly. "According to Coraline, you staked her last year solely out of raging jealousy."

Beth rolled her eyes and snorted. "Of course." She glared back at the dark haired woman and continued sarcastically. "It had _**nothing**_ to do with you terrorizing me as a child. _**Nothing**_ to do with you calling yourself Morgan Vincent and working assignments with me for two years to keep an eye on me. _**Nothing**_ to do with finding out you'd been stalking Mick and I since we started working together, taking pictures of us."

Mick saw DuPre's eyes narrow as he turned to his wife. Next to him, Coraline sat calmly, ignoring the glare from her husband and the questioning glances from the other delegates.

Mick smiled at the schism occurring in front of him. "I take your wife didn't mention her history with Beth." DuPre's eyes snapped to Mick's as he continued. "You see, 23 years ago, Coraline kidnapped a little four-year-old human girl. She planned to turn her so that the three of us could be one big happy family. That little girl was Beth. I rescued her…and thought I'd killed Coraline until she showed up here in Los Angeles about a year and a half ago."

_"But if this kidnapping incident was more than twenty years ago, certainly a senior vampire such as Josef would let go of such __an…__indiscretion," commented _one of the Council members on the phone._ "Situations involving humans are rarely the basis for banning a fellow vampire from a region."_

"Mick and Josef are best friends," shrugged Coraline from her spot at the table. "If Beth gets a papercut, Mick shreds the piece of paper and convinces Josef to burn the building down. She seems to fill some sort of _paternal_ need in both of them. Rather sad, actually."

Mick stepped to the edge of the table. "Josef's decision had very little to do with what happened twenty years ago. It did have to do with your attempted deception of Josef and I last year, your attempt to have me killed, and then your appearance in Rome."

"Rome?" Several delegates were obviously struggling to keep up with the rapidly developing story.

Mick turned to the delegates and explained for their behalf and that of the Council members on the phone. "Six months ago, I petitioned the Vatican to have my upcoming marriage to Beth sanctioned by the church. When we got to Rome for the petitioner's hearing, we found out that a Petition to Deny had been filed to block our marriage."

Coraline suddenly looked uncomfortable, and Mick would have bet that her dear DuPre didn't know about the incident in Rome either.

"Imagine my surprise to see my dear ex-wife there," Mick drawled. "And not only did she want to block my marriage to Beth, but she wanted the church to recognize and revalidate _our_ marriage." Mick shrugged, adding "Fortunately, Cardinal Rossi agreed with me, denied her petition and gave Beth and I the Church's blessing."

_"I can verify the matter as described by St. John," _came Alexander's voice._ "In addition, Josef called and spoke with me several weeks later, informing me of his decision to restrict __Coraline__ from the area. He felt her continued attempts to disrupt__ the__ life__ of those under him__ were a negative influence on the community."_

Silence blanketed the conference room and the Council chamber in New York. At one end of the table, Coraline sat filled with anger at the failure of her carefully planned agenda. Beside her, DuPre clenched his fists, furiously looking for a way to salvage his power grab, and seriously considering snapping his dear wife's head off her body. How dare she endanger his intricately crafted strategy for her own petty revenge!

"Well," Mick said, breaking the prolonged silence and retaking control of the meeting, "it's nearly noon and I'm sure we could all use some rest. I suggest we consider this matter closed and move on to the real reason you're here." He consulted his watch and looked back at the representatives. "I propose we meet back here at 10:00 PM to start on our analysis of the facts. I'd like to thank the Council for their time, but I think we're going to need a day or so before we can give you a more definitive solution."

_"I believe that will be acceptable," _said one of the Council members._ "We'll look forward to hearing from you regarding both the situation in Los Angeles as well Konstantin's condition. Let us know if there are any major changes before that."_

"Of course," Mick nodded and signed off. Turning to the delegates who were beginning to rise, he smiled and escorted them to the front door where their entourages waited. Within minutes, the delegates had left for their various accommodations, including DuPres and Coraline who had been the first to leave, saying nothing but radiating anger.

Mick closed the door behind the last delegate and turned around to where Beth stood behind him. With a moan, he closed his eyes and slowly slid down the door until he was sitting on the floor. Concerned, Beth quickly dropped down beside him.

"Mick?"

His blue eyes popped open and a grin spread across his face. "I did it." He laughed and threw his head back. "I went up against DuPre and Coraline and won!" Pulling Beth into his arms and kissing her deeply, he again chuckled as he hugged her to him.

His enthusiasm was contagious and Beth giggled at the giddy vampire in front of her. "Coraline was really steamed, wasn't she?"

Mick chuckled. "To put it mildly. And DuPre! God, I'd love to be a fly on the wall to hear the conversation between DuPre and her."

With a groan, he climbed to his feet and stretched. Taking Beth by the hand, he led her down the hall to look in on Josef. One of Josef's senior freshies had just finished injecting Josef and he was actually looking better and was beginning to show signs of waking. Closing the door, he led Beth further down the hall to a guest room containing both a bed and a freezer unit.

"We'd better get a few hours of sleep," Mick said, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "I told Ryder and his team to tell us if anything happens." Setting an alarm on his watch, he yawned and began to strip down. "I'm setting the alarm for 6:00pm – that'll give up time to check out any new leads and still be ready when the delegates get here at 10:00pm."

"Mmm…sounds good," Beth said, climbing into bed and snuggling into the down comforter.

Mick leaned over and gave her a deep, soul-felt kiss. He wished he had the energy to crawl in bed with her for a while, but they were both badly in need of rest.

Closing the lid on the freezer, Mick stretched out and let himself drift off, wondering what else DuPre had up his sleeve, and what attack the vampire hunters might launch next.

But for now, he smiled, the score was Mick and Beth - 1, DuPre and Coraline - 0.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Blood Feud (9 of 10) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

_Almost done, folks! Thanks for being patient with m__e while real life had me swamped.__ After this, there's just one more chapter…and the ending will be a __doozy_

**From last chapter:**

_Closing the lid on the freezer, Mick stretched out and let himself drift off, wondering what else __DuPre__ had up his sleeve, and what attack the vampire hunters might launch next._

_But for now, he __smiled,__ the score was Mick and Beth - 1, __DuPre__ and __Coraline__ - 0._

**Part 9**

By 6:30pm, Mick and Beth were lounging on the living room couch, watching the news and having their dinners. Beth sat sideways, with her toes tucked under Mick's leg for warmth as she chatted to her mother on the phone.

"Really, Mom, don't worry about us. You know not to believe everything you hear on the news… You know Mick – he's so overprotective I can't even get a hangnail….No, no change, but we haven't given up hope yet….No, Mom, I don't think you could do anything for Josef by coming here. It's only been 24 hours. We're hoping we just have to give him more time."

Mick remained aware of Beth's conversation with one ear while he listened to the newscaster report the latest developments regarding last night's clinic attack. Expanded beyond the basic facts, the press had now given the series of attacks a name – The Vampire Hunter Attacks. Mick rolled his eyes as on the screen, two 'vampire experts' debated the issue of whether or not Trent and the others were unbalanced mental patients or simply religious fanatics.

"OK, Mom…yes, I'll call you tomorrow….Oh, and I agree with the idea of having the wine served at the reception. It'll be easier for us to plant a couple vamp waiters to serve the 'right' type of red wine to the guests with dinner….yes, I promise to finish looking at the proofs of the invitations by next weekend. OK….I love you too…"

"Bye, Mom!" said Mick loudly with a grin.

Beth grinned back at him. "Mom says 'bye'……Bye Mom, talk to you later." She flipped her phone closed and turned back to watch the discussion on the television. The moderator of the discussion turned to one of the 'experts'. _"George, these attacks can only __be__ described as domestic terrorism. No matter what flimsy excuse they give, their target is obviously disruption of the medical infrastructure. They certainly don't expect us to actually believe they're looking for vampires."_

_"I disagree, Mike.__Obviously__ a student of the vampire mythology, t__he individual behind this campaig__n is __most likely__ the victim of a __psychotic break. __ Rather than a deliberate attack on society, he has created in his mind a reality where monsters are to blame for society's ills. __I think this is more an example of the failure of the mental health system in America…"_

"I can't believe these guys," burst Mick, waving his arms in frustration. "These idiots haven't got a clue what they're talking about." He shook his head and gave a snort. "Josef was right – he once described vampire 'experts' as the food critiquing the farmer."

"Nice to know you admit I was right," came a weak voice from behind them.

Mick and Beth whipped around to find Josef leaning heavily against the entrance to the room. Moving quickly to his side, the two of them helped the weakened vamp to the couch, urging him to lie down, peppering him with questions about how he felt and whether or not he needed anything.

Batting Mick's hand away as he tried yet again to stuff a pillow behind him, Josef stopped their chatter. "Much as I appreciate being waited on hand and foot, what I really want is an update on what's going on. How long was I out?"

Mick smiled widely and clasped his best friend's arm. "Just under 24 hours. We got hit about midnight last night, and it's not quite 7:00pm now."

"The Council knows?"

"Oh yeah," Beth said, nodding. "They know. Alexander put Mick in charge while you were recovering," she added proudly.

Josef turned to Mick, his eyebrows showing his surprise. "Really? You may be the youngest Regional Leader ever."

"Temporary leader only," Mick said, embarrassed by the title. "The only thing it was good for was completely pissing off DuPre."

Mick and Beth proceeded to fill Josef in on the details of the morning's meeting, leaving Josef both growling with anger at the challenge to his leadership and grinning at Mick's outmaneuvering of DuPre and Coraline.

"Figures Coraline would team up with DuPre," Josef said, shaking his head. Leaning back on the couch, he clasped Mick on the shoulder. "I have to say, my friend, I'm impressed. Holding your own against those two isn't for those with a weak stomach."

Mick grimaced, "Well, I can't say I'm sorry to hand the region back over to you. And I can't wait to see DuPre's face when he walks in and sees you." Mick grinned down at his friend. "You surviving is definitely going to put a in kink in his plans."

"Don't fool yourself", Josef warned the pair. "DuPre and Coraline won't have had just one plan up their slimy little sleeves. You can bet they'll have a Plan B and C...hell, probably even a Plan D. The two of them together…well, it's not good."

Josef pulled himself up to a sitting position with Mick's help. "I need to make a quick call," he said, reaching for Beth's I-Phone. "Do you mind?" he asked Beth. "I need to call Alexander on his private line. Both Mick and I have numbers someone in the Council chambers might recognize."

Beth shrugged and handed Josef the phone. Punching in a number he'd called before, Josef spoke briefly with Alexander, assuring him that he was doing much better and that Mick and Beth had told him about the morning's meeting. They quickly decided Josef would let Mick greet the representatives and see what DuPre would do next. Alexander would not tell the Council members that Josef was awake, concerned that the information would be quickly passed on by Malachi and his cronies. With Alexander's best wishes, Josef hung up and turned to Mick and Beth.

"God, I love a good conspiracy," he smiled broadly. "The scheming, the maneuvering." Josef sighed happily. "Reminds me of the old palace intrigues. Haven't really been in the middle of one in over a hundred years, but I have pleasant memories."

The three friends grinned and moved to help Josef stand up. He was still weak and needed to feed and spend some more time in the freezer - especially since they knew he'd need his strength to face the representatives later that evening. Mick and Beth helped him to his room where they turned him over to two of his favorite freshies who were thrilled to see him awake.

As Beth retreated back to the living room, Mick frowned at Josef. "As soon as you eat, you need to get some more rest," urged Mick.

"Yes, Dad," smirked Josef. With a serious glance he added, "And you'll let me know if you get any information or leads about the attacks. Don't try playing Lone Ranger, Mick. You're the only one I can trust to help keep an eye on these representatives and besides…Beth would kill **me** if you got yourself killed."

Mick sighed with exasperation. "Fine. I'll let you know if we get a lead. For now, get a couple hours freezer time and I'll be sure you're up before the committee arrives."

"Should be fun," Josef responded, pulling a beautiful brunette down next to him. "Now shoo…my dinner's ready."

* * *

Half an hour before the committee members were due to arrive, Mick and Beth were dressed and ready. Josef had also gotten up and dressed and, after feeding again, was obviously itching to confront DuPre. Mick smiled to himself, noticing that everytime DuPre's name was mentioned, Josef's eyes frosted over. It felt good to have his friend back on his feet.

At precisely 10:00pm, the delegates arrived with their entourages. Mick greeted them and ushered them to the conference room where Beth played hostess, smiling and chatting as though she was hosting a vamp cocktail party. Predictably, the last to arrive were DuPre and Coraline who walked past Mick without so much as a greeting and swept into the conference room taking the same seats they had occupied earlier.

Mick sat in his previous seat with Beth in a newly added chair to his right. In front of her whirred the fan of her laptop. Punching in the Council number, Mick glanced around the table at the delegates. Most had a look of anticipation, as though they wondered what unexpected twists might happen next. He allowed himself a quick glance at an original graphic oil on the wall, knowing that a minute camera embedded in the design was relaying everything to where Josef sat down in the study.

After the customary greetings were out of the way, Mick leaned forward and addressed both groups. "Let's get down to the real reason we're here."

He nodded to Beth who clicked on a presentation readied on the computer. The graphic displayed both on the wall screen and on a monitor in the Council chamber was a map showing the locations of each attack. As Mick talked them through the facts they had, slides showed the photos of the known attackers, the stakes and notes left, and the silver slugs retrieved from Josef and Mick.

As Mick wrapped up the presentation, he turned to the group. "The fact is, these attacks are well funded, well planned, and far too well informed."

"Yes, yes," interrupted DuPre with a sigh, "we can figure that much out ourselves without requiring a guided tour," he said dryly, gesturing at the screen. "What's missing is the ability to plan strategically…to preempt the next strike." He smiled coldly at Mick. "And while I'm sure you've done your best, your feeble attempt at following a lead had rather disastrous results, now, didn't it?"

Mick forced himself to remain in his seat, resisting the urge to rip the smug smile from DuPre's face. "We're continuing to gather intel as we speak, watching for any activity."

"Considering your heavy reliance on human contacts, it's no wonder you're always one step behind," replied DuPre, speaking slowly as though to a child. "You need to have a deeper network of contacts – something that is achieved through time and skill."

"Which you can offer." Mick leaned back, never breaking eye contact with the older vamp.

"Yes," nodded DuPre. "The strategic planning of a response to such a situation should be done by those with a deeper knowledge of both operational response and an embedded group of informants." DuPre leaned back as well, but looked at the others around the table. "I have received credible information that an attack will occur within the next hour at a location not far from where we sit."

Mick tensed in his seat and leaned forward towards DuPre. "Where? We need to be there."

DuPre raised his eyebrows in mock amazement. "You'd leave this planning meeting to go chase a lead? Well, I suppose if you think that's best," he shrugged. "I suppose I could lead the discussion in the absence of a Regional Leader."

The conference room door opened. "I don't think that will be necessary, Vincent," drawled Josef, looking sharp in an Armani suit. "We'd hate for a guest to be inconvenienced."

Murmurs raced around the table and through the phone speaker. The delegates quickly offered their congratulations, and Josef noted that there were smiles all around the table with the exception of the two seated at the far end.

Mick quickly vacated his chair and motioned for Josef to take his place. As Josef seated himself, Mick again turned to DuPre. "Just how credible is your information? Where's this attack suppose to happen."

DuPre struggled to get ahold of his anger at this sudden change of situation. With a stiffness, he ground out, "My informants state that the attack will occur at midnight at the Red Cross Blood Center in Burbank, up on Verdugo."

Mick nodded. "I know where that is." Turning to Josef, he said, "I'll take a couple of your guys with me, we'll see what we find."

"Good," nodded Josef. He quickly placed a hand on Beth's arm as she started to get up. "Not this time, Beth."

Beth started to argue, but Mick shook his head. "I agree. This isn't an investigative trip, Beth. We'll be going in armed." He looked grimly around the table at the delegates and at the angry visages of DuPre and Coraline. "This needs to end. Now. Tonight."

Beth reached out to clasp his hand as he turned to leave. "Be careful. I don't want to have to dig any more bullets out of you."

Mick grinned and leaned over to give her a quick kiss. "I'll try. I'll call if we find anything."

A moment later, Mick had left and Josef turned back to the group in front of him and on the phone.

Coraline stared coldly at Beth, seated at Josef's right. "You're going to allow a human to sit in on our strategy sessions?"

"Beth is a member of our community. She's welcome here. If that's a problem," he said mildly to the dark haired woman, "I'd be glad to have one of my drivers escort you back to your hotel for the night."

Coraline growled and sank back into her seat, clearly unhappy with Beth's elevated status within the vampire hierarchy.

Josef smiled to himself. _Time for some fun!_

"Sorry I was indisposed earlier. Anything interesting happen while I was out?"

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Blood Feud (10 of 10) Author: Lindyrb Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Mick/Beth Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

_**Okay…finally! **__**The last chapter**__** and epilogue**__** of this story.**__** Thanks to all of you for your patience and feedback (my muse greatly appreciates being fed!).**_

**From last chapter:**

_Coraline__ stared coldly at Beth, seated at Josef's right. "You're going to allow a human to sit in on our strategy sessions?"_

_"Beth is a member of our community. She's welcome here. If that's a problem," he said mildly to the dark haired woman, "I'd be glad to have one of my __drivers__ escort you back to your hotel for the night."_

_Coraline__ growled and sank back into her seat, clearly unhappy with Beth's elevated status within the vampire hierarchy._

_Josef smiled to himself. Time for some fun!_

_"Sorry I was indisposed earlier. __Anything interesting happen while I was out?"_

**Part 10**

Mick sped through the night along Verdugo Avenue towards the Red Cross Blood Bank DuPre had named as the next target. With him were three of Josef's security detail. In the back of the Benz were two large Swedes named Sven and Thor – Mick wasn't quite sure which was which. Beside him, riding shotgun, was Connor, a former Navy SEAL that he'd worked with before on cases for Josef. Turned just a few years after Mick, he had an irreverent sense of humor that Mick appreciated.

Connor looked down at his feet and leaned over, picking up a paper tray and wrapper from the floor. "Fast food?"

Mick glanced over and shrugged. "Beth's dinner a couple nights ago – she likes Pink's Hot Dogs."

Connor looked at the receipt. "M.S., no SK?"

Mick grinned. "The Martha Stewart dog, hold the sauerkraut."

Connor chuckled and dropped the wrappers in the trash bag. "Man, I gotta hand it to you. High-rise pad, classic wheels, and a gorgeous blonde human conveniently at your beck and call."

A quick laugh exploded from Mick. "You obviously don't know Beth. She's at nobody's 'beck and call'. And believe me, there's never been anything _convenient_ about our relationship." Still smiling, he turned the Benz down a side street and stopped under a broken streetlight next to a vacant building.

The four vampires climbed out and waited while Mick popped open the trunk. Without a word, the four quickly donned Kevlar vests and armed themselves with semi-automatic weapons equipped with silencers and a variety of bladed weapons. Finally, each man included a powerful taser into their arsenal. Mick also slung a scabbard across his back and slid his personal machete smoothly into it. He had already placed the Cleaner on notice and knew she and her team were waiting somewhere close by.

Moments later, the vamps easily vaulted over the security fence at the back of the property, silently landing in the deeply shadowed parking area. As with most blood facilities in the area, they had advance intel giving them the layout of the property and the facility itself. The four had already devised a plan of attack, and at a sign from Mick, the group divided up, with the two Swedes disappearing to the right where they would access the building through windows conveniently hidden from the street.

Mick and Connor crept to the back of the structure and with a glance at each other, effortlessly leapt to the roof of the two-story building, landing soundlessly in a crouch. With feline grace, the PI and the SEAL moved to the roof access door and within seconds had disabled both the locked door and the security system. Entering, they found themselves inside a maintenance closet and quickly crept into the darkened hallway adjacent.

In an instant, the two men had scanned the area. With their heightened visual acuity, they confirmed they were alone in the hallway, but a quick whiff told Mick there were humans somewhere in the facility. Suddenly, their super-hearing registered a shuffling sound at the bottom of the stairs in front of them.

Mick smiled grimly. _Game's on!_

Josef casually leaned back in his chair and looked at the delegates gathered around the table. He had met all of them at various Council events through the years and had never had any problems with any of them, save DuPre.

Ah, DuPre. Josef let his gaze land on the haughty vampire at the far end of the table. Looking at the woman at DuPre's side, he raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Coraline! Well, this is a surprise. I could swear I declared you _persona non grata_ months ago. Yet….here you are."

"I'm just here to support my husband," Coraline said demurely. "I'm not here to cause any trouble."

At his side, Josef felt Beth tense and he was sure that if she could have growled, she would have. '_Easy, Bet__h,'_ Josef thought, smiling to himself.

"Of course not," Josef replied lightly to the dark haired vampire. "Oh, and congratulations to the two of you on your recent marriage," he said brightly to the two at the end of the table. "If I'd known, I would have given you a matching set of something."

"Thank you," DuPre replied through gritted teeth. "I must say, Josef, I'm…surprised to see you trying to deal with this stressful of a situation in your condition."

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," quipped Josef. "And St. John told me how you offered to 'help'." He held DuPre's eyes, coldly relaying his message. "However, I think my team has a handle on things now."

DuPre leaned back in his chair, never breaking eyes with Josef, and spoke to ensure his comments were heard by the Council members on the phone. "Your 'team' has consistently failed to handle the situation. Obviously, your informants aren't reliable, your intelligence analysts are naive, and your muscle, including St. John, are inept bumblers who can't even handle a couple of human oafs."

"And yet the vampire death rate, the rate of Cleaner use per vampire capita, the number of required disciplinary actions in this region are less than a third of those rates in the New Orleans region," observed Josef.

A muscle twitch in DuPre's jaw was the only reaction that escaped his control. "Perhaps it is because of this lack of challenge that your leadership has become lax and ineffective."

"Or perhaps the Los Angeles community has fewer issues because they have no need to rebel against a totalitarian wanna-be dictator," Josef shot back.

"I may use a firmer hand in my region, but the result is a community that has both integrated modern improvements while maintaining traditional ways without the…degradation of values that occurs when we mix too closely with humans," he said archly, refusing to look at where Beth sat glaring at him. "The result is a intelligence network far superior to that of any other region's. My informants know there is a penalty for false leads or information." He shrugged and gave Josef a cold smile. "I have no doubt your pet PI and your lackies will confirm I was right about the location of tonight's attack. Of course, that assumes that they won't botch the job this evening."

"Since you brought the topic up, DuPre, since when does a Regional Leader develop informants within another leader's region?" Josef's eyes flashed as he leaned forward. "It makes a person feel as though the other leader might have some hidden agenda."

"Gentlemen," came Alexander's firm command over the speaker, "this discussion can wait until after we have resolved the current situation in Los Angeles." He continued, shutting down DuPre's attempted argument. "This Council placed Josef Konstantin in the role of Regional Leader and we continue to have full confidence in his ability to lead his area."

Josef relaxed back into his chair with a smile as DuPre angrily sank back into his. "I thank the Council," Josef said smoothly. "Now, let's review what we know…

Mick and Connor moved quickly to flank the staircase, weapons at the ready. Connor signaled that he would take point, and Mick nodded, shifting to cover Conner as he moved downwards. Between his vampire skills and his training as a SEAL, Conner moved with the grace and stealth of a panther. In an instant, he had reached the landing below and scanned the area. He signaled Mick with an 'all clear' and a moment later was joined by the PI. Together, the men crept down the hall towards where they heard the beat of multiple human hearts. They knew the other two vampires would be approaching from the other side and, if things went according to plan, they would trap the expected two to three attackers between them.

Of course, you know what they say about best laid plans.

As they got closer to where their prey was, Mick and Connor looked at each other grimly. _Six heartbeats._So much for that part of the plan. Still, four vamps should have the advantage due to their superior speed and senses. A quick glance at his watch told Mick they had about 45 seconds left until their predetermined time to attack.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose. Without warning, a metal canister was lobbed around the corner towards them. Mick and Connor moved at vamp speed, taking cover behind a half wall to their right just as the canister exploded with a bright flash and a deafening concussion

_A stun grenade._ Fortunately the effects had been dampened by the barrier they were behind. Mick shook his head to clear his vision as he vamped out and defensively brought his weapon up and flipped off the safety. The bad guys were upping the ante – this was the first time they'd used explosive ordinance – and Mick said a quick thanks that he'd refused to let Beth join them tonight. In the distance, they heard another commotion as the attackers engaged the other two vamps, and as Mick and Conner rounded their barrier, they found themselves facing three armed attackers.

Beth took a final bite of the lasagna on her plate then grabbed a cold bottle of water as she stood up from the table in Josef's dining room. The delegates had taken a half hour 'dinner' break during which she had grabbed a quick bite from the freshies' buffet. As she slipped back into the conference room she saw that all the delegates were back in their seats except Josef. At the far end of the table, DuPre and Coraline continued to 'hold court', regaling all those who would listen about the changes needed.

She turned to see Josef stride into the room, pushing the doors closed behind him. With a tight smile, he took his seat at the head of the table and motioned for everyone to be seated. "Let's get started again, shall we? Is the Council present as well?" Getting confirmation from the phone speakers, he pressed a couple buttons on a remote, and a map of the United States was projected on the wall screen.

Highlighted in yellow was the city of Atlanta. "While we were taking our break, my head of technology gave me some very interesting news." He smiled brightly at DuPre. "My tech guys make yours look like a bunch of grandmas."

"You see, they've been able to trace both the cells phones the attackers used. We knew they'd been bought in Atlanta, but my guys managed to triangulate exactly where they were purchased and get the security tape footage." Josef pushed another button, and two grainy images appeared on the screen. He turned to look at DuPre. "It turns out both were purchased by the same individual….isn't that one of your personal assistants, DuPre?"

The heads of all the delegates snapped to look at DuPre who continued to glare at Josef with undisguised hatred. "It could be. It's hard to tell with such low quality photos. And since we live in Atlanta, I would imagine my people frequent many of the stores in the area."

"Well, let me confirm for you, it's one of your key assistants, an Anton Bouret." Josef pressed the remote again and a series of surveillance photos followed Bouret as he left the store and approached a waiting vehicle. The next photos showed him passing the newly purchased cell phone to an individual clearly visable in the passenger seat of the car. "In each case, Bouret immediately handed off the phones to relatives of our favorite psycho, Peter Trent."

As the delegates launched questions at DuPre and each other, Josef leaned over and surreptitiously slipped something into Beth's hand. Looking down, she saw he had palmed her a small revolver no larger than a credit card. Snapping her eyes up to his, she saw caution in his gaze. "Stay close, Beth," he murmured. "And if this explodes, get to the freshies' safe room and lock yourself in."

Beth subtly nodded and watched Josef as he turned back to the chaos in front of him and motioned for quiet. Pressing the remote yet again, he gestured to the US map which now was criss-crossed with colored lines.

The slide was titled "Courier Routes – 2008" and had different colored lines linking the major cities. A yellow line connected Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and ended in Richmond, VA. A red line shot west from Philadelphia towards Chicago and Minneapolis while a blue line started where the yellow line ended in Richmond and continued to Charleston, Atlanta, New Orleans and Dallas. Finally, a green line linked Dallas with Denver, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, then shot north through San Francisco to Seattle. Mick had explained to Beth once that there was a regular courier service, providing confidential transportation of messages, valuables and passengers, both vamp and even some humans.

"Here's where it gets really interesting," quipped Josef. "Both of those individuals were getting rides with our courier service. Trent's cousin, Johnny Thompson came out of the Boston area. In fact, he picked up a package from your Uncle Malachi while in NYC and rode with the courier down to Charleston and on to Atlanta. Two days later, another cousin caught a ride from Richmond, also headed for Atlanta. In both cases, our little 'caravan of kooks' continued on to New Orleans. In fact, every one of the individuals tied to the attacks so far can be placed in the New Orleans area within the last couple of months. In fact, the security tapes from your compound show them in your private office."

A tense silence vibrated through the room and through the phone link to the Council members in New York.

DuPre slowly rose to his feet, his eyes shimmering with a silver tint. "What are you insinuating, Konstintin?"

Josef remained seated, looking relaxed to those who were unfamiliar with him. Beth, however, could tell he was primed to release his inner vamp at a moment's notice.

"I'm not insinuating anything, DuPre. I'm just sharing what my 'insignificant, bumbling network has discovered," Josef responded.

Suddenly, the doors to the conference room burst open. Mick and Connor strode in, dragging a semi-conscious form between them which they unceremoniously dumped on the floor, scattering delegates as they scrambled out of the way.

Beth leapt to her feet, her eyes quickly checking her fiancé for injuries and seeing none, released the breath she'd been holding. She couldn't help admiring him as he stood there all in black, sweaty, in a Kevlar vest, a bandana around his head. She caught his eyes as he glanced over to check on her and gave him a quick smile. Mick winked at Beth then looked to where Josef sat with a humorous look on his face.

"We brought you a little something, Josef," Mick grinned.

"So I can see," Josef said, observing the now moaning lump on the floor. "Just one?"

The smile slid from Mick's face. "The Cleaner's busy tonight, Josef. We lost Thor. And we had no choice – we had to eliminate five of them.

Josef blinked. "There were six of them?"

"Yeah," nodded Connor. "Armed with silver hollow point bullets in semi-automatics, silver bladed machetes and stun grenades."

Murmurs of amazement came from the delegates who suddenly fell silent as the form on the floor moaned and rolled over. Mick strode forward and grabbed the man's collar and sat him up against the wall.

"This guy says he was following the directions of The Old One." Out of the corner of his eye, Mick observed a movement and quickly moved to block the individual from slipping out of the room.

"Leaving, DuPre? Surely you don't want to miss the good parts." Mick stepped close to the elder vamp and quietly added, "Oh…but when you do leave? Don't forget to take your new bride."

Suddenly, the captured attacker staggered to his feet, leaning heavily on the wall and hobbled towards where Mick and DuPre stood. Reaching out towards DuPre, the man whimpered, "Oh, Old One! I have failed you!"

Mick gaped at DuPre in disbelief. "You're…"

"Oh my God," murmured Beth as gasps rippled around the room and across the phone lines.

"Don't be ridiculous," snapped DuPre, pulling his arm away from where Mick had grabbed him. "This human imbecile is obviously mentally disturbed. I have no idea what he is talking about."

The man shrank away as Connor moved towards where he stood. Moving quickly, Beth darted around the others to stand in front of the man. Touching his arm gently, she smiled at him. "Why do you call this man The Old One?"

The injured man peered into Beth's face and seemed to decide that she was not going to harm him. "Because he is The Old One. My cousins and I learned from him at his secret temple in New Orleans."

"His secret temple?" encouraged Beth. "What did The Old One teach you?"

"He taught us about our sacred calling. You see," he leaned forward, confiding in the woman before him, "he is actually John the Baptist, here to cleanse the evil from the world to prepare us for the rising of Christ. Those of us who are faithful warriors in his army will be baptized in blood by The Old One and shall be the first of Christ's new disciples."

"He's obviously deranged," railed DuPre. "Certainly you can't believe this drivel. He's either mental or is part of some scheme to discredit me. Either way, I've never seen this man before."

The man shook his head and stepped towards DuPre. "But Old One! You must remember me! I'm one of your faithful! I saw you there at the temple," he pleaded, then turned and motioned towards where Coraline stood against one wall. "You and Mary Magdelene!"

"Oh, this is getting better and better," smirked Josef as he leaned back against the edge of the table. Turning to his employee, Josef directed "Connor, why don't you escort our Holy Terror here to a holding cell. See that he gets medical attention as well."

With a nod, Connor moved forward and grabbed the attacker's arm and propelled him out of the room, pulling the door closed behind them.

Josef broke the resulting silence, clasping his hands and settling back into his chair. "Well, DuPre, I've got to give you points for originality. This is one scam I haven't seen before. John the Baptist. Oh," he said, grinning at where Coraline stood looking uncomfortable, "and let's not forget Mary Magdelene."

"Let me get this straight," Mick said, his fury backing DuPre away from the exit. "You planned this whole thing…the attacks, the vampire hunters. You actually took a chance of exposing our world! Why the hell would you do that?"

"A question I believe we would all like to have answered," came Alexander's obviously angry voice through the speakers.

DuPre drew himself up and pushed against Mick who continued to block him in the corner. Unable to dislodge the furious PI, DuPre motioned to be allowed to address the delegates, and Mick shifted to allow the elder vamp to face the group.

DuPre looked around the room with a disdainful curl to his lip. "How soft and timid you all have become. You tremble before mere humans, worry about what they say and think. As though their opinions should matter to us!" He stepped forward and slammed his fist down on the table.

"We are the dominant species on this planet! Given our superior physique and intellect, it is our right to take our place over the lesser beings around us. Our key chosen ones will manipulate their body's chemistry to position themselves in every major human government and military around the world. But while they make this sacrifice, those of us who are of royal descent must keep ourselves elevated and pure," he said, sneering as he looked from Mick to where Beth sat next to Josef, "avoiding the dilution of our noble bloodlines. We are superior! And those of us who have courage and vision must take command of our people and lead them to the power that has been so long denied us."

A deafening silence blanketed the room. Stunned, those in the room stared at the defiant vampire, struggling to grasp the fact that the crisis facing their nation had been launched from within. Proof that the most dangerous terrorist is often the one that hides in plain view.

Something DuPre had said was gnawing at Mick. Slowly, the pieces came together and Mick pushed away from the wall and moved slowly towards where DuPre stood.

"It all makes more sense now," Mick said in amazement. "Your plans about 'manipulating the body's chemistry'. Your attacks on the clinics, where I'm betting your 'warriors' safely removed every pint of AO Negative blood before trashing the rest. Using it for Coraline's research on the 'cure' to enhance it so your 'chosen ones' would be able to pass – able to infiltrate human society at every level, withstand any level of scrutiny, any medical exams." He looked from DuPre to where Josef and Beth sat, a look of understanding dawning on their faces.

Josef raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Pinky, we're going to take over the world…"

Beth couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth. She glanced over at where Mick stood and realized that only Mick had been able to link all the pieces of the puzzles the vampire community had faced over the last couple years. Looking at the delegates, she saw the respect in their eyes as they looked at the young vamp.

Mick frowned as he turned to look across the room to where Coraline stood, trying to fade into the background. "But one thing I don't understand," he puzzled, catching her gaze. "Why, Coraline? You've never been into that kind of power. Why would you sell out your family, use the compound for such a….warped purpose?"

"Because if she helped DuPre pull off his little coup, he'd eventually control not only the human power structure, but the Council as well", reasoned Josef. "I'm sure he told her he'd reward her well. Give her what she wanted most." Josef cocked his head and looked at his best friend. "He promised her you, Mick."

Mick felt a tight knot twisting inside as anger flushed through him. The thought of being treated like a commodity…of being bartered for services rendered...Mick suddenly felt ill. A gentle hand on his arm, though, drained the tension from him as a warm body leaned against his back.

Instinctively, his arms went around his rescuer. Nuzzling her hair, he forgot about the others in the room and held Beth tightly, listening as she murmured soothing words against his cheek. Finally calm, he released her but kept hold of her hand, brushing a kiss against her forehead then turned so they both faced Coraline.

Before he could say anything, though, Alexander's commanding voice filled the room. "Vincent DuPre, you are hereby stripped of your position as Regional Leader and will be escorted immediately by the delegates of the Committee to Council Headquarters where you will be incarcerated until you stand trial for crimes against the Vampire Nation. One week from today, you will be judged by an international committee of Council Leaders who will determine your guilt or innocence and any punishment they deem appropriate."

"Coraline DuPre", he continued, "you are also to be escorted to Council Headquarters for questioning and possible charges. Also remanded into custody will be those of our people identified by film, photos or testimony as part of this matter. This will include Council Member Malachi, who is already being escorted to a confinement facility."

Alexander's voice changed, becoming less hardened. "To Regional Leader Josef Konstintin and to Michael St. John, the Council extends our deepest thanks. Konstintin, your intelligent and discreet handling of this matter reaffirms the wisdom of our choice of leadership in the Los Angeles Region. In addition, we are most impressed with St. John's ability to step into the Leader position in a time of crisis. The effectiveness of his unique and somewhat unconventional style will bear further discussion. Ultimately, we feel assured that Konstintin has a strong second available to him."

"Thank you," both vampires responded.

Within half an hour, the delegates had made arrangements to escort DuPre and Coraline as well as the captured attacker to the private airplane waiting their departure, and Josef's mansion began to empty. Beth had wisely decided not to ask what fate awaited either the accused vamps or DuPre's follower.

The Canadian delegate stopped to speak with Josef and Mick as his entourage prepared to leave. He chuckled, "I must say, I've rarely had such an enjoyable few days! It was like watching a cross between Desperate Housewives and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Next time you decide to take on a megalomaniac and his henchmen, let me know." Still laughing, he made his way to the waiting sedan. Soon, peace and quiet replaced the insanity of the last two days.

Closing the door behind the last delegate, Mick walked back to the living room and collapsed on the sofa next to where Beth was curled up, leaning on a pillow. With a smile, she shifted to cuddle up to Mick who instinctively wrapped his arm around her.

Josef wandered in from his techie area and relaxed into a comfortable chair opposite the couple. "Well, Ryder and his team are thrilled. I gave each of them three months salary as a bonus for their work 'above and beyond'." He smiled wryly. "It may have cost me a bundle, but I wasn't lying in there…my techies kick ass."

"The Council seemed pleased with the way you two wrapped things up," Beth commented.

Josef shook his head slowly. "You have no idea – neither of you do – of how rare that approval is. In my nearly 400 years as a vamp, I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard the Council actually _thank_ someone publically like that."

"Yeah," grinned Mick, stretching his legs out in front of him, "I think the Council pretty well shot down any takeover plans anybody might have. You're firmly in charge, Josef, Armani suits, Ferrari and all."

"Hey, don't diss the suits, man!"

Beth giggled as the two friends continued to bicker. "Well at least they left me out of it."

"Not exactly, Blondie," huffed Josef. "You're what they meant by Mick's 'unique and unconventional style'. But the fact that they decided your relationship is worth watching is pretty 'unique and unconventional' itself."

"Just the same, I'm glad this whole things over," Mick yawned, stretching as he stood up. Reaching down, he pulled Beth up and the two began gathering up their things. "No offense, Josef, but I want to get out of here and take my fiancée home."

"No offense taken," Josef shrugged. "I arranged with some of the Council members to have a believable message recorded saying the Vampire Hunters have realized their errors and are now concentrating on hunting down the gnome and leprechaun communities." He grinned at Beth and chuckled. "I'll have the tape delivered to you by tomorrow afternoon. Once you air that, it should effectively close out the police investigations here and guarantee DuPre's followers are declared certifiable nut-jobs."

Beth burst into laughter. "Leprechauns? Yeah, that ought to do it."

Mick chuckled and took her hand. "Never underestimate Josef Konstintin."

"You've got that right, my friend," smiled Josef, as one of his freshies sauntered into the room. "Ah! Breakfast!"

**Epilogue**

Beth sat in the middle of the living room floor, her planner in front of her and surrounded by piles of papers, books and two laptops. She looked up as the door opened and Mick entered, arms full of grocery bags. Kicking the door closed behind him he grinned at the picture before him.

"Weren't you in exactly that same position when I left for the store an hour ago?"

Beth huffed in exasperation. "Mick, we're getting married in less than a month and there are so many details that still need to be done. And you're no help."

Mick shrugged, "I tried. You just didn't like my results."

"I asked you to help pick the alcohol for the toast and you suggested 'a dark ale'. Ale?? Who has ale for the toast at a reception?" Beth waved her arms in frustration. "And when I sent you and Josef to get fitted for your tuxes, you changed the reserved suits. Yours was suddenly all black- shirt, long duster, no cumberbund- and Josef suddenly decided to wear an Armani tux in aubergine! If I hadn't double checked, you two would have actually gone through with it, too, wouldn't you!"

Mick set down the groceries on the counter and wandered over to where Beth sat in the midst of her chaos. Reaching down, he drew her up into his arms and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart, I really don't mean to cause you more headaches," murmured Mick. "It's just that all that really matters to me is that we end up married. Legally. _Finally_!"

In the three months since the blood bank attacks had ended, Mick and Beth had relaxed back into their regular routine. Mick's business was booming and he could barely handle the workload. He'd even hired one of Josef's retired freshies as an administrative assistant to handle the phones and paperwork during the day. Following her highly popular coverage and final exclusive 'scoop' wrapping up the Vampire Hunter Attacks, Beth had been promoted to Senior Reporter at Buzzwire and had even had her reports picked up by the networks. As a result, her career was in high gear as well.

Fortunately, Beth's mother was more than willing to handle many of the details and had been down to visit twice since the attacks. She'd shown up the first time just days afterwards, wanting to see for herself that Josef was alright. She'd fussed, Josef had complained. Mick and Beth had done their best not to burst into laughter watching the odd couple of friends.

Beth reached up and pulled Mick down for a deep kiss. "Mmmm…legally and finally. I like the sound of that. But my mother would be devastated if we didn't have the wedding. She's looking forward to it as much as I am. Maybe more."

"Yeah," Mick grinned, nibbling on her ear and running his hands down her sides. "We want to be sure everybody's as happy as possible."

"Oh, I definitely agree," Beth purred, licking Mick's neck and raking her nails down his chest, causing him to moan with desire.

As he swept her into his arms and headed towards the stairs, Beth glanced into the kitchen. "What about the groceries?"

"They'll keep," he growled, his eyes frosting over. "Right now, I've got exactly what I want a bite of…"

THE END…..for now


End file.
